Elements Of The Heart
by BlackLynx17
Summary: For 1000 years they thought their fellow Elements were dead, but it was the opposite. They lived and breathed, all Elements were living and breathing, but were separate and hidden from each other. Something happened leading to two of them meeting, then another two, and another. How will they react finding out what they've learned has all been a lie? What will happen when they meet?
1. The Beginning Of It All

**BlackLynx17: Warning. So when you read this story, you're going to realize you haven't read anything like this before. I came up with this story from a picture I saw on the internet between Gray and Juvia, should be the profile picture. I had dreams about it before finally deciding to make a Gruvia story. Then I realized why should I stop there? I should make it a longer story about all the Fairy Tail couples, the main ones at least, so this is how I ended up here. I'm still working on the last bits and pieces of the story, hopefully you'll enjoy this though.**

**It really is something different and amazing, so I hope you review and tell me all of your thoughts about it. This story is going to have so many twists, turns, and romance it's going to be just adorable. I'm hoping it'll be popular as I think it'll be. Anyways, thanks for reading my loyal fans. Take your time and enjoy.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 1

The Beginning Of It All

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Earthland. Once a world united, now a world split apart into four divisions, two sections in each division, eight sections in total. Division 1, Sections Water and Ice. Division 2, Sections Lightning and Sky. Division 3, Sections Fire and Light. Division 4, Sections Shadow and Earth. Their residents know nothing about the other Elements in the world; they're unable to connect to one another. It's unknown the reason why their worlds got cutoff, no one questions it though. It's just how their world works; each section kept to themselves. It was like this for centuries until one fateful day. It was a chain reaction, or maybe all by chance. What happened first though was in Division 1, Section Ice, where one resident found himself lost.

He traveled across the icy landscape, miles away from where his home was. In the Ice Section everyone lived in one area, a huge castle made completely out of icicles that only improved and grew bigger each passing day located at the heart of the land. It was a section of style, their ice magic giving life and shape to everything they could possibly imagine, and one of the only Elements that lived together under one roof.

Not yet a man, but not young enough to be considered a boy either, dressed in only a pair of black pants with a white belt keeping it tied up, walked across the frozen landscape, snow falling gently above him. He was seventeen and lost in his train of thought, hands in his pockets as his mind got farther away from him, his feet leading him farther away from home.

Suddenly he blinked and looked around, a scowl on his face. "Where am I?"

Silence met his question. The wind blew and snow fell; Gray Fullbuster frowned and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. He wasn't lost, he was sure he could find his way back, Gray continued walking anyway though. After a while it sounded like he was walking on the thinnest ice instead of snow and when he looked down, he saw that the snow was piled up very shortly on the ground. Gray furrowed his eyebrows and leaned down, brushing his hands against the snow.

It has always been snow over snow over more snow, Gray felt something solid though. His hands wiped the snow away and he saw solid see-through ice, waves of something underneath the ice. Gray had never seen something like this before, but knew what it was. Water. That was impossible though because the Water Element wasn't supposed to be connected to the Ice. They couldn't meet, it was impossible. There was clearly water underneath him though.

Gray leaned down further and stared with amazement, never seeing water before. He wished he could touch it and slammed his fist against the ice to achieve that wish... no cracks at all.

"Of course not." Gray mumbled to himself.

He placed his forehead down on the ice and stared into the water, seeing bubbles every now and then. It looked weird, water. The way it moved, how it looked, the small bubbles that would suddenly appear. Weird, but nothing like he's ever seen before; Gray couldn't keep his eyes off it. He blinked seeing something moving underneath the water, it was too fast for his eyes. Gray leaned up and started wiping the snow more around him, a clearer picture of the water underneath the ice appearing. There was something dark in the distance under the water. Gray's eyes scrunched together as he tried to make the figure out, it started getting clearer and clearer. Pretty soon Gray saw that the dark figure was a woman, walking towards him.

His eyes widened and he sat back up, running away. He had just seen a resident of the Water Element, he just saw a resident of the extinct Water Element! Someone that no one has ever seen in the past thousand years! What was I doing?! Gray thought as he stopped dead in his tracts and ran back. He saw the spot he knelt against from before and ran towards it, stopping right in front of it. The sight he saw was amazing.

The woman was still there, floating in the water looking almost as surprised as he was. She was beautiful, something Gray has never seen in his life. She looked nothing like the women from his Element, wore clothes nothing like his people, her eye color nothing like he's ever seen. Her hair was a bright curly blue that danced underneath the waters and matched her outfit, a long skirt that seemed to be made of a material he's never seen before. She was shirtless, just like him, but had some fabric over her chest and around her arms covering herself. She blinked and tilted her head slowly at him; Gray leaned down and to get a closer look at her.

"Hello?" He asked.

She opened her mouth, bubbles coming out.

"I'm sorry?" He asked her again.

She started moving her mouth open and close repeatedly, placing a hand against the ice. He couldn't hear her and if he couldn't hear her, she couldn't hear him either. Gray frowned and placed his hand against the ice where her hand was. She blinked and smiled brightly at him and for some reason, Gray smiled back. An idea struck him and he pushed some snow over her head. He patted it down nicely on the ice and started writing a word, backwards.

_'Hello.'_

Could she understand? Gray watched her stare at the words and repeat it, she smiled and waved at him. So they could read the same language. Gray pulled more snow and drew another word over the ice wall, his name along with an arrow pointing at him. The water resident looked at the name, repeated it, then looked at Gray.

"Gray," she said pointing to him.

Gray saw her lips say his name and nodded, pointing to himself. The girl nodded and tried writing on the ice, nothing happened though. She huffed and pouted, holding up a finger at him. One second, Gray took it as when she swam away. So he sat there, building a pile of snow beside him so he'd be ready to write when she came back. Minutes passed, Gray thought she had left him until he saw a shadow in the water. She was back and she was holding... something green he's never seen before. It was seaweed. The girl tied pieces together to spell letters and held it against the ice.

"J-U-V-I-A. Juvia, Juvia?" He asked.

Juvia smiled and nodded, pointing at herself.

"Juvia." Gray said patting snow on the ice.

_'Nice to meet you.'_

Juvia read and smiled, holding her hand against the ice. Gray pressed his hand against there too. It was the first time in a thousand years where two separate Elements met each other. And they couldn't say a single word to each other. The messages between them were small, short, questions really. Juvia's answers were limited because she didn't grab a lot of seaweed so she'd often get stuck when Gray would ask long questions. It was strange and exciting talking to someone different from his kind, she looked exactly like him though. The only real difference was where they stood. From his point he was standing on top, her underneath him, but from Juvia's view she was on the top, him underneath her.

She gave him a look before tying her seaweed into letters again.

_'Leave.'_

Gray blinked and pointed at himself, she shook her head and pointed at herself. So she had to leave.

_'Can I see you again?'_ He wrote in the snow.

Juvia smiled and nodded her head, placing both her hands against the ice. Gray smiled back as well and placed his hands over her.

"Tomorrow." Gray told her.

Juvia blinked and Gray sighed, writing words in the snow. She nodded at him and mouthed the word bye before she slowly started swimming away. Gray watched her until she vanished completely from his sight. Seconds too late he finally said.

"Bye."

Neither of them knew that their meeting would bring the destruction of their world.


	2. Great Grandfather Fullbuster

**BlackLynx17: Hi everyone! I fixed my summary, the last time I was in such a rush to get the story posted that I made it super short and to the point. I've gone back and fixed it though, hopefully for the better. I received tons of reviews and I'd like to thank you for your support. I'm super excited about this story and have finished most of the plot line. All I need to do is go back and revise, so no need to worry about it suddenly dropping or late updates.**

**Honestly I just read the summary again and decided that it's not good. I'm going to be changing it again one more time and hopefully that will be the last. Lol. Well, without further ado please enjoy this chapter and remember to review. It makes authors really happy when you do, as I'm sure you all know. Just a reminder, this story has multiple couples so if you don't like the one we're on now, power through until you get to that special couple that makes you fangirl/fanboy.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 2

Great Grandfather Fullbuster

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She thinks she loves him. She wasn't for sure, but when she saw him... it was strange. She's never felt this way before in her life with anyone else. It was fate that they met, it had to be. How could their meeting be anything else other than by the hands of fate, or her savior? How else could you explain her sudden want to take a swim that day and adventure into the distance, where she saw the flickering light. Curious, she started swimming towards it and that's where she saw him. Gray. Gray. Gray. How had she lived so long without him? Without knowing about his being? His existence?

He wasn't a Water Element like her, but an Ice. They were different; he lived in a whole different world than her, breathed a whole different air, probably even ate completely different foods and did completely different things. Honestly though, what did that matter? Love was love, and Juvia had fallen in love with Gray after one meeting.

The Water Element couldn't sleep a wink that night. Thoughts of Gray swam all through her head until morning rose, the waters getting a little bit warmer and brighter. She was out of the house before anyone else even woke up and swam to their meeting spot with speed that could match a dolphins. There was no light guiding her this time, so when Juvia got to the general area all she could see was the ice wall. It ran far, as far as her eyes could see in every direction. Her gut was telling her he was located somewhere around here, she couldn't really know for sure though until he got here.

So Juvia relaxed and became one with the small waves, closing her eyes and finally getting that rest she so desired knowing that her beloved was resting below her. She dreamed of the sky she saw just behind Gray's head, the white snow that fell on the ice covering her view of him, but mostly Gray talking to her. She dreamed of his voice, what he might sound like, could of sounded like. Something magical, loving, beautiful. Something different.

There was a shift in the waters when she woke up. It felt like she's been sleeping for hours and yet there were no cracks of light below her. Where was he? Was it still too early? Juvia slowly drifted down to the ice wall and laid on it, cold to the touch. After a while she saw a light peeking though the ice in the distant and raced towards it. Her heart was singing when she got near and finally, when she was swimming directly above it, below her was Gray's face looking right at her. He smiled and waved, her heart fluttering as she smiled and waved back.

Juvia came prepared today to speak and communicate better with him. She dug inside her sash and pulled out several small green seashells from it. She could feel Grau's eyes watching her as she crushed the shells up until it was nothing but dust. She let it float through the water, shaping the now green water so it could spell out words that her beloved could not hear her speak.

_'Hello Gray.'_

She stared up and saw him blink, probably amazed with her powers, his jaw dropping a little bit. After she blinked she saw him moving the snow off the ice all around him, making a big circle of space. It might not have been his intention, but Juvia was able to see his full body now and blushed lightly; he was kneeling below her shirtless, the ice only making it sparkly and enhance each muscle and every curve. How could she not have noticed before? Suddenly the water felt warm around her as he started writing in the snow.

_'How are you doing that?'_

"I can control water, it's my element." Juvia said as she formed the words with her green water.

Gray grinned and held his hands up, icy spikes suddenly appearing out of his palms. It was Juvia's turn to be amazed, her eyes widening as she reached for it, only to be stopped by the wall between them. He just made ice appear out of his hands, he could control his element ice just like she could control hers. All this time, her whole Element has been living right next to the Ice Element. They've been living right underneath their noses this whole time.

_'I can control ice.'_ Gray wrote her.

Juvia laughed and started clapping her hands underwater. The two of them stared at each other for a while, wondering what was going to happen next. Nothing did. She smiled lightly and reached a hand out to him, who in return Gray held out the same to her.

"Does everybody in your section look like you?" She asked, forming the words in the water.

Gray blinked and shook his head. He had to remove his hand from hers to write back, saying it as he wrote.

"Sort of, we only have people with black and white hair, sometimes dark blue and gray. Other than that though I guess, our eye colors are always brown and black. What about you?" He asked.

Juvia smiled and nodded her head, "we have people with blue hair too! My color blue though, and white hair! No black like yours, our eyes are brown and blue though! We have a connection!"

Gray chuckled, he drew a happy face in the snow. It was cool that they had been able to find a way to speak since they couldn't hear each other, but this language barrier was killing him. He couldn't create ice words as easily as she could create words in the water. If only this ice wall barrier wasn't between them, then they could speak and hear each other so much better... maybe he should try breaking the ice again, but this time actually give it a real try.

_'Move back a little, I'm going to try something.'_ Gray wrote.

Juvia raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded and started swimming away. Once he spotted her a safe distance away Gray stood up and got into position, placing a closed fist on his open palm.

"Ice Make: Hammer!" He yelled forming a hammer and smashing it on the ice.

The wall vibrated underneath him; other than that nothing happened. Juvia understood what he was trying to do though and nodded to herself. Maybe if they broke the barrier they could meet person to person, she could talk to him, touch him, hear what his voice sounds like. She dreamed that it was a dark voice, like her father's or uncle's maybe. In order for her to help though, she needed more distance. Storing the green fragments of the once seashells inside her sash, she swam away from the barrier even more and started gather water into her hands. With a sudden burst, she shot the water with the force of a killer whale against the ice wall.

Nothing.

Gray felt the shaking and saw the water splashing. He walked back to the open spot and waved for her attention.

"On the count of three." He said holding up three fingers.

Juvia understood and started gathering more water again while Gray positioned himself once more.

"One." He said.

"Two." She whispered.

"THREE!"

"Ice Make: Hammer!"

"Water Nebula!"

Getting hit from both sides you would think would have done something, nothing happened though. Gray and Juvia both ran to see if there was the slightest crack or anything, the ice wall separating them didn't seem hurt in the least. Both Elements sighed and looked at each other sadly, they were wearing small smiles though.

_'I guess we're stuck talking like this.'_ She wrote in the water.

_'I guess.'_ Gray wrote her.

Juvia stared at Gray, biting her bottom lip as she did so. The disappointment was clear on his face and she started wondering if wanting to see and meet him... might not be what he wanted. To go through all of this just to talk to one Water Element... it seemed like a lot.

_'You don't have to do this you know. You don't have to stay here and talk to me.'_ She wrote, the words in the water drifting slightly as fear crept inside of her.

Gray was surprised and shook his head as he wrote in the snow,_ 'I don't mind talking like this at all! I really want to in fact!'_

She smiled and Gray suddenly felt embarrassed, messing up the snow that held his desperate words as he looked another way. Juvia giggled into her hand and reached out, tapping the ice wall to catch Gray's attention. He looked and she mouthed words to him, bubbles escaping her mouth.

"Thank you."

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"Hey Lyon, ever wonder why we we're separated from the other Elements?"

Lyon Vastia, a fellow Ice Element, was Gray's best friend, or the best he'd ever get, and childhood friend. They were also pupils from the same teacher growing up, the list went on and on about how these two knew each other. Although everyone here in the Ice Section lived under one roof, the Vastia's home was built right next to the Fullbuster's, them being connected to each other. It wasn't strange for them to just walk right in and make themselves at home, their families being such good friends after living near each other for so long, which is exactly what Lyon did when Gray got home. Maybe his busting in was actually a good thing this time. Lyon was just... he was someone Gray felt he was closest too... or well at least the only person he felt like he could talk about this.

"I don't know what you mean by that Gray." Lyon said bored.

"Remember back when we first had our tour of our Ice Kingdom? Mimori was explaining about the different Elements and how we were the only Element that lived under one roof." Gray tried to jog his memory.

"Ao Mimori? Oh yeah! You're talking about the other extinct Elements! Fire, Light, Earth, I think Sky was one, and our Ice and Water? Those Elements?

"You missed a few, but you get my point. Yeah, now have you ever wondered why we can't visit those Elements? How we've never seen them?"

"Bro, what are you talking about? I just told you Gray, their extinct Elements. Everyone knows that ice is the only Element alive and still kicking on this planet. We were the only survivors."

"Survivors? Survivors in what?"

"You got me, I'm just repeating what I heard from Mimori. It's pretty obvious though that none of them exist if we haven't seen any Element for so long."

"So you don't think our world is just... not connected with the others?"

Lyon gave Gray a blank stare and sighed out loudly. There was that look in his eyes that meant he wasn't going to drop the subject until he got some answers, any kind of answers to his questions. There wasn't a lot Lyon knew, he had something that might help his friend though and stood up from his comfortable spot on the icy couch to go retrieve it. Gray called out to him as he left and stared at the thick book he returned with a minute later. Lyon chucked the thing at Gray, who quickly caught it and prevented a black eye or injury from happening.

"Here, you need to reeducate yourself about our history because I don't feel like wasting my time being your teacher for an afternoon. If you don't feel like reading the thing though, you can always go visit Mimori and ask her personally or maybe even your Dad, he is our leader. While you do all of this though, I'm going to go visit Ul and create something. Come join us when you're over this obsession." Lyon said walking out of the room.

Gray sighed and looked at the old history book, remembering it from his childhood. Their savior was drawn on the cover, that being the only thing Gray really remembered from it. He cracked the book open and started scanning through it, trying to find the answers he sought. There was no beginning in the book, just history and past. It briefly explained about all Elements living together for a brief time before they disappeared, before all Elements disappeared except for Ice. Gray narrowed his eyes as he read the same passage over and over again.

Disappeared? How could that be right?

"How can you explain millions of Elements dying by just disappearing?" Gray asked himself turning the pages.

He read further into detail of his Element's history and mainly the ending, about Ice being the only survivors. There was nothing in the book though that said what they were the survivors of. This book was useless Gray came to the conclusion of as he closed it. He glanced at the spine of the book, trying to see if there was an author's name to know who wrote the piece of garbage, there was nothing there though. He reopened the book and looked at the first few pages, the initials G. and F. appeared on one page.

"Well that helps a lot." Gray mumbled closing the book again.

So apparently all anyone knew about their history was that their savior, the sacred Iceberg, created their home and their kind flocked to it, learning from the Iceberg how to control the ice we lived on. That was it. There was no knowledge of anything about the worlds being connected or how they ended up being closed off from each other. Not how everyone else just died except for their race, just them being the survivors.

"How come no one has questioned this before?"

Because no one had seen a Water Element so no one thought anything of it. Gray sighed as he pushed the book on the table, staring at it. He hadn't learned anything new from this book at all. He thought there must have been a war or something that killed everyone else and Ice just won.

"So Juvia, she must be the only survivor of her people." He mumbled to himself.

But she talked as if she wasn't, as if she had family and friends. She spoke happily and proudly of her Element, living Element. Gray stood up from his chair quickly and raced out of his home, passing his mother on the way as he planned on asking the oldest and wisest Ice of all. Many familiar faces said hello, Gray was on a mission though. He quickly ran through the elegant gates with shapes and symbols curving and beautiful stairs glistening a pearly dark blue under the sun, to the highest point of their Ice Castle. There, guarded by six guards, though Gray was sure that those guards weren't there just for the ice, was the great iceberg of their history standing tall and unmoving, the same way it look once his people first saw it, and his father right next to it.

"Dad?" Gray asked walking in.

The guards let him pass, seeing as how that was his son, and Gray Sr. stood up from his resting spot, smiling at his son. He was dressed in armor, as always, his cape fluttering viciously in the wind that seemed to pick up out of nowhere. The grin on his face stayed true whenever he saw his son and he welcomed him in with open arms, shielding his son from the cold world in his warm arms for a few short seconds.

"Gray, my son, how I've missed you."

"You just saw me last night Dad at dinner, and stop it. Your guards are looking." Gray mumbled, his face turning red.

Said guards started chuckling and turned their backs to their King and future heir, taking a few steps forward to give the two rulers their privacy. Gray Sr. just grinned down at his son and ruffled his hair.

"That may be true, but you've been out of sorts lately. I haven't been seeing you walking around our kingdom either, have you been training with Ul and Lyon outside the kingdom walls?"

"Something like that." Gray mumbled, not wanting to lie to his Dad, but not wanting to tell the truth either. Juvia... Juvia was his secret. His and well soon, their saviors.

"It's rare seeing you seek me out, unless your mother sent you for me?" His Dad asked, paling.

Gray chuckled, "no Dad. She didn't."

"Great, phew. I guess that leaves two other options, you have something to say to me or you have something to ask Icy."

"Does he ever answer?" Gray asked, walking around his father and towards the iceberg.

"Son, when you are King you will know the answer to that. If he does not answer though, you know you can always come to me."

"Yeah, thanks Dad."

Gray Sr. stared at his son who didn't even glance back as he placed his hand on the iceberg.

"Is there something on your mind son?"

Gray hummed lightly, "I'm just wondering about our history, there's not much in our books and I was hoping that our savior could fill in the blanks."

"My grandfather once told me that we were all once Water Elements."

Gray froze, his heart beating erratically in his chest.

"That one day, while swimming around-"

"Swimming?" Gray asked, turning to his Dad.

"Yes, it's how the Water Elements move in water. We simply walk my son, they swim though."

Gray nodded and, waiting for his father to continue, started thinking back to Juvia. She did walk different from himself, almost with grace like she was dancing. She wasn't dancing though, she was swimming. Gray Sr. nodded back to his son before continuing.

"One day, while swimming around they came across land. Our ice land to be precise. It was our great-great-great-great something grandfather, Gray Fullbuster, who took the first step and found our savior. He walked over to the iceberg and simply touched it." Gray Sr. said walking over, touching their savior as he explained it.

"Then instantly, he knew the iceberg was alive. That it was feeling everything he felt, knew everything he had been through, and understood that he was looking for something else other than what the Water Elements were giving him. He found it in the iceberg and the two of them made a pact. For giving us the power of ice, we were to create a kingdom in glory of the power he gave us and always love ice. Our great grandfather, let's just keep it short, returned back to the Water Section and started spreading the news fast, asking all who wanted to join him in a new place should come. He gathered nearly half of the Water Elements and they all lost their water ways, for ice. My grandfather told me that the ice called to his great grandfather, that while swimming around he heard him call so that's why we believe the ice is real. It saved us, gave us a better place and a more beautiful power to create something out of nothing." Gray Sr. said in amazement as he created an ice crystal in his hands.

"Our great grandfather was made King because the iceberg chose him, just as the iceberg chose his son, and his son, and his son, and my son. The day you were born your mother and I brought you here and laid your hand on our savior. It began to snow from the sky inside this room and we could hear music, softly in the winds while our savior glowed. We're not chosen to be kings because of our bloodlines, but because the iceberg knows who will bring great prosperity to its kingdom and people. It may not speak all, but it knows all that is well for its people and feels every single one of us connected to its kingdom."

Gray looked down at the iceberg, seeing its shards connected with the icy floors. The floors connected to the roofs and walls, all the way down to the stairs and lower levels of the castle and still even further down as people kept connecting and creating more and more things to their home.

"What did you come to ask him Dad?" Gray asked

"I came to give my thanks, as I do everyday for these blessed lives and keeping our Element save."

Gray nodded and turned back to the iceberg, sitting down just as he saw his father had when he walked in. Gray Sr. watched his son before turning around, dismissing his guards as he left the room. Gray waited until he heard them leave before he laid down on the floor, placing a hand on the ice.

"Hello?" He asked.

There was no response.

"If what my father said was true, then you know everything I know and feel. You know that I don't wish to be a Water, that I love my Element very much and feel lucky to be born as an Ice. I do wonder why we don't talk to the Water Elements anymore, why we're cut off from them. I met one and she... what happened? Why are we cut off from the Water Elements? Is anyone else out there, still alive? How did this happen?"

Gray could have been talking to a block of ice, but he knew he wasn't. He knew their savior Iceberg could hear him, that he just wasn't responding. Gray sighed and closed his eyes, scooting closer to the ice. He fell asleep right next to it, not waking up even when his father came to retrieve his unconscious body and bring him home.


	3. Just Knew

**BlackLynx17: Some of you were reviewing me that Gray's father, Silver, was named Silver. I am aware of the fact, I changed his name to Gray though because of a fact that I don't remember if I explained in the previous three chapters. I know it comes up in the future chapters, sorry if some of you think it's too many Gray's. If you asked Juvia she would say that it's not enough Gray's. I won't be changing it, Gray's Father is Gray Sr, short for Senior, while Gray is just Gray.**

**Thank you for your reviews, I hope you enjoy this rather short chapter. Next one be longer, while reading please tell me if you had a mello feeling throughout it all. Thanks. You are too kind.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 3

Just Knew

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Juvia Lockster swam in a circle, along with many others in the whirlpool. It was one of the great pleasures of living in the Water Section, the random whirlpools that would appear in their area. Her people would flock to it like schools of fish and enjoy the spinning ride of fun. She had been dragged here by her friends, though all she wanted to do was sit at home and think of Gray. Instead she had to think of Gray in front of everyone else as they were screaming and cheering.

Finally having enough, Juvia began to swim away from her friends and back into the calm waters. She was alone on her swim home, floating aimlessly with the currents that drifted into their underwater haven. Juvia flipped around and started kicking her legs to where her home was, swimming through a window and landing inside her living room. She laid down on the floor and closed her eyes, enjoying the shivers that came across her skin when she made bare contact with the coral floor.

"Juvia, how many times must I tell you to lie down on the coach and not on the floor! Your father went through a lot of effort to make that couch for us!" Her mother called out when she swam in.

Juvia started floating upwards, "I don't know why he did since we can just float."

"That's not the point Juvia." Athena sighed, shaking her head softly.

Juvia opened her eyes and smiled kindly at her mother. Athena's stare was fierce, something Juvia's been told more than once that she's inherited from her mother. Her long darkish blue, as close as the color black Water Elements would get, hair floated above her freely, adding to her fierce look, her midnight blue eyes making her seem like she was a spawn of kraken as she glared down at her daughter.

Juvia shivered a little and floated over to the couch, landing softly on it. As soon her butt made contact, her mother's beauty came out and she smiled brilliantly, a trait Juvia not so luckily inherited. Athena spun around and planted her feet on the floor as she headed towards another room.

"Good girl, are you hungry dear? I was just about to make dinner for us when your father returns." She asked leaving the room.

"No I'm not, I'm sure to be later though." Juvia said lying down, lifting her legs up to completely lie on the couch.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, seeing Gray's face behind them. Her face flustered and her heart starting beating faster. She felt the water around her heat up and Juvia went to touch her cheeks, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

"Mom? How did you know you loved Dad?"

"Your Father? Um, I guess when I married him?"

"Mom!" Juvia yelled out because of the vague answer.

"What? It's true! Your Father was the one head over heels about me first, saying he'd die without me by my side. I didn't care about how handsome he was or how he was our next leader, things like those never mattered to me. When I finally decided to give him a chance, his constant pestering was driving me crazy, before I knew it we were getting married and I just knew that I loved him. You never truly know until the day where you'll be bound together forever."

"So you just knew." Juvia muttered to herself.

"What?!"

"Nothing Mom!" She called back.

Just knew. That's how Juvia would describe her love for Gray, she just knew she was in love with him. She just knew she loved him. Did Gray also know? Her heart raced just thinking about it, that chance that her love wasn't just one-sided. If he returned her feelings, if he loved her...

Juvia's eyes opened wide as she realized... nothing would happen. She was separated from Gray, a thick wall of ice between the two of them. He could never reach her just like she could never reach him. Even if he did return the feelings, they could never do anything about it...

There had to be a way though. Juvia bit her bottom lip as she stared off in the direction where Gray was. This wasn't impossible, they could meet. Once upon a time Water and Ice were connected, like all Elements out there. She didn't know the reason why they weren't connected now, but she was surely going to reconnect the two Sections. Nothing was going to keep her away from her true love.

Nothing.

* * *

_"Where... where am I?"_

_"Someplace you've been looking for."_

_"Looking for? How exactly do you know what I've been looking for?"_

_"Because you've been calling out to me. This is what you've been wanting, isn't it? A change?"_

_"I... I... what is this place?"_

_"Home if you so desire."_

_"Home?"_

* * *

"So you aren't the only one?" Gray asked.

Juvia shook her head as she wrote the words in the water, _"Nope. There are a lot of Water Elements at home, in the hundreds even. It's kind of crowded now that I think about it."_ She said tilting her head.

Gray chuckled again, knowing he was right. She wasn't the only one, there were hundreds of Water Elements alive. So did they win the war? Or did the Ice Elements? And what about what his Father had told him? About their great something grandfather coming from Water to Ice? There wasn't a war then... or at least not yet. Did it happen after? Were the Water Elements mad that some of them were becoming Ice Elements instead?

Juvia blinked as she stared at Gray's thinking face, wondering what was wrong with him. She wrote words in the water, waved her hands in front of his, and tried tapping on the ice. Finally when she started knocking on it he looked at her.

_"Sorry."_ He wrote.

Juvia shook her head and smiled brightly.

"Could I ask you something personal Juvia?"

Her heart started beating. Personal could mean anything about her life, but immediately she thought about her secret crush on him. She would tell him if he asked, though nothing could be done. They couldn't be together, they were separate and yet... would he care? Her face turned red, the water around her bubbled as she got embarrassed. Gray gathered a lot of snow in one place and started writing.

"Could you tell me about your history? The Water Elements? Anything that might explain why we're separate?"

Juvia blinked, surprised about the question. She started racking her brain, not really knowing a lot about her Element.

_"I'm sorry Gray, I don't know a lot about our history."_ Juvia wrote him.

Gray sighed and when Juvia saw his frown, she couldn't explain it. Something inside her brain surfaced a memory that was long forgotten, about a tale her mother once told her as a bedtime story. She tapped on the ice and started writing, explaining to him.

"We were all lost beings once, separated under the water. One day a whirlpool appeared though and swept all across the waters, collecting us all up. It gathered everyone in once place and we have been living there for over hundreds of years. Our savior, the largest whirlpool ever in our waters that stays in the heart of our Section, is still alive today calling out to our lost brothers and sisters, protecting us."

Gray's eyes widened. He didn't, it sounded so strange. What Juvia was describing, her savior was just like the Iceberg the Ice Elements worshiped. That... that couldn't have been a coincidence though, right?

"That's about all I know, I could ask my Father today though and return with more information tomorrow. He's the leader of our Element so he should know more information, or at least know where more information can be found. I'm sorry I wasn't much help."

"No, that's alright Juvia. You were very helpful, thank you."

Juvia smiled and floated over to the ice, placing her hands flat on it. She laid down against it, resting her head and closed her eyes. Gray only stared when he saw this, slowly without realizing it leaning down to move the snow away from her face. He laid down right above her and rested his head against the ice as well, wondering what it would feel like to touch water. She could touch his ice, there was no water wall between them though. Juvia opened her eyes and looked into his, smiling a small smile as bubbles flew out her lips. Gray smiled back and he didn't know how long the two of them laid there.

He was happy though, or at least, he didn't feel sad or strange or anything like that.


	4. No Answers

**BlackLynx17: I'm so happy everyone is liking this story! Thank you everyone for reviews, favorites, follows, the whole thing! This chapter is about average, the next chapter is going to be short though so I'll update it more quickly. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, did anyone see the new episode of Fairy Tail!? They have a new opening! I'm so happy, I love it! The last one was whatever, I approve of this one though.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

* * *

Chapter 4

No Answers

* * *

"I don't know." Gray whispered to the Iceberg.

He laid with his back against it, staring at the small ice crystals beautifully above them. They inspired him to add more beauty to the room, making small ice sculptures of his own and attaching them to the ceiling. Most of them resembled the waves of water he's seen Juvia swim in, curvy and smooth with slight ruff edges.

"I don't think I'm asking for a lot, I just want answers." He mumbled adding another ice wave to the wall.

It was like he was having a conversation with himself, imagining what the other person would be saying if he could talk. His father told him that the Iceberg was alive, and Gray truly believed that, he must have been the silent type though since all Gray could hear was his own voice and thoughts.

"Because... I know I never truly wondered before I met her, but now that I know her... I want to know her. I want to talk to her, hear her voice, feel her skin, feel what water feels like, how her hair would feel like... how she would feel like. Is that too much? Am I the only one who's ever wondered about this?"

Gray sighed, having enough. Slowly he stood up and dusted his pants off, clapping his hands together. He felt the ice particles form in his hands and when he lifted them up, it revealed a small icicle version of Juvia.

"This is what she looks like... I don't even know her last name." Gray whispered.

He leaned up and made small ice steps, hiding his sculpture in one of the cracks in the Iceberg just in case his Father or someone else came up here and found it. Stepping back down, he got rid of his steps and started walking outside of the room. The doors closed and he started skating down the steps, running into his teacher.

"Gray, I was just looking for you." Ul said with a small smirk.

It's been a while since he's last saw her, a week before he first found Juvia making it nearly a month. She had been his constant excuse though whenever his father asked what Gray had been doing though so maybe it wasn't a good idea not to see her if he's been saying he's been seeing her. At least whenever his father asked how she's been, Gray had been correct when he answered good. Ul always looked good, never aging the slightest as the years packed up. One would hardly believe she was a mother; Gray barely believed it himself until he finally met her.

"Well you found me." Gray responded

Ul frowned and leaned into his face, getting a real good look at him. "I didn't believe your father, but now I do. What's been happening with you Gray? I've never seen you so... heartbroken. What? You fall in love with a girl and get dumped?"

Gray's eyes immediately widened and he just simply stared at her, "wha-wha-wha-?! I look HEARTBROKEN!?" He asked.

That was impossible though. He had to give his heart away first for it to get broken and he didn't give it away, who could he have given it to? None of the females in their Element had caught his interests yet and the only woman he's been talking to was Juvia. Juvia was... Juvia though. A... friend, he guessed. There was nothing more to that, nothing else.

"Come on, you need some inspiration. Let's go create something, there was an snowstorm on the left side of our home and it all got destroyed. Let's hurry before they finish rebuilding it." Ul said grabbing his hand and tugging him forward.

"Heartbroken?" He repeated, his eyebrows scrunching together.

Impossible... really? Maybe he could ask the Iceberg that next time... no! Impossible! Gray kept shaking his head as Ul dragged him down the steps, through the caves and halls of icicle wonders to the southern side of their home. There was a group of Ice Elements already there, about ten or eleven, and they all seemed to be creating sculptures from people to snowflakes, shapes and wonders.

Ul smirked and cracked her knuckled, slamming a fist over her hand as she started creating. Ice started breaking through the floors, growing bigger and taller.

"Like? It's a statue of the Iceberg." Ul smiled showing a beautiful icicle statue of their savior.

Gray nodded and walked over to somewhere else, where people haven't created yet. He stopped at an empty space, chunks of ice and snow everywhere, and placed his fist over his hand.

"Ice Make." He whispered.

All eyes turned towards their future leader, the snow gathering around him as he seemed to turn a light blue. Ice shaped where he wanted them too, creating curves and waves, little snowflakes trapped in the curves as they turned from smaller to bigger, raising above them into hallways, a ice chandelier hanging where each ending curve met. The Ice Elements had never seen curves like this, never seen shapes of art this beautiful.

Ul walked over slowly, her eyes glued to the sculptures.

"Where'd you get the inspiration to make these?" She asked.

Gray shrugged, dropping his hands. "It just came to me."

"I've never seen anything like this before." Ul said touching it, as if it wasn't real.

Gray shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, turning away. He created, it didn't take the thoughts from his head though and didn't provide as a good enough distraction. It only made things worse as he noticed that what had he created looked like waves in water. He missed Juvia.

"I'm heading home, thanks Ul." He said walking off.

The Ice Elements walked over and touched the ice just like Ul, trying themselves to create such waves with no such luck. The shape, the texture, the energy of their creations just didn't look like Gray's.

"Gray! Wait!" Ul said catching up to him.

She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, "what's eating you bub? You haven't talked to your friends in weeks and you're always disappearing for long periods of time."

Gray shrugged, "nothing."

"Don't you dare say that. I know you've been lying to your father, telling him you're training with me when you're off going Iceberg knows where."

"I'm sorry Ul, it's none of your business though. I'm fine, I'm safe, I'm not putting anyone of us in... danger," He paused saying that last part, "so there's no need to worry."

Ul's eyes furrowed though as she did nothing but worry, "why would you say put us in danger? Who would harm us? We are at peace in this section."

Gray realized his slip up and bit his bottom lip. She was right, no one was in danger. There hasn't been a war in years, against the Water Element everyone thought was extinct... Gray realized something else though. What if... what if Juvia was playing him? What if... she was trying to gain information to fight against his people? No, not likely. She wasn't asking anything of him, Gray was mostly the one asking the questions. He was just being paranoid, he was becoming paranoid with so many questions running in his head with no answers.

"I'm sorry Ul, I need to go." Gray all but said running off.

"GRAY!" Ul yelled after, he disappeared into the distance though.

Ul huffed and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Just what am I going to do about him?"

* * *

"Daddy, may I have a word?" Juvia asked floating in.

"Of course, anything for you Juvia." Her Father smiled greatly.

"I just had a few question about our history if you don't mind." Juvia said taking a seat on his desk.

Ryujin's eyes widened as he stared at her. Never before had she asked him any question like this before, never even showing the slightest interest in anything water except for swimming. Kids weren't into history or the past, but all about what was 'hip' and 'cool'.

"Re-re-really?" He asked.

Juvia hummed and nodded, "yeah. All you know if you don't mind, all the way from the beginning."

"I don't, but are you sure? You've never asked me anything like this before."

"Well I was never interested before, until now."

"What changed?"

Juvia thought of Gray and shrugged, "I don't know."

Ryujin nodded, "I can tell you all I know Juvia, but for the things I do not it might be best to visit our savior."

"Savior? Really?"

"He has been here since the beginning of our people, he knows all though he doesn't say anything. Instead he comes to people in dreams, visions and shows people their answers to their questions. Whatever I cannot answer, ask our savior and he shall surely answer you. Be warned though, his answers are a bit of a...puzzle."

Juvia nodded, "yes Daddy. Shall we start in the beginning?"

"The beginning. Our kind was once separate, scattered all across the waters of our section."

"Then the whirlpool came and brought us all together, I know that much. What about after? Were we always at peace? Or was their a war? What do we have to do with the Ice Elements?"

"The Ice Elements? Juvia, what are you asking?"

Juvia bit her lips, "I'm simply curious Daddy."

"How do you know about the Ice Elements though? They've been long since extinct, no one knows of them anymore."

"I read it in a book." Juvia lied.

"What book?"

"One in your library of course."

"And since when have you been reading books in my library?"

"Is there a problem Dad?" Juvia asked, getting irritated so she dropped the cute 'Daddy's girl' act.

"No, this is all just very strange though Juvia."

Juvia looked away from her father and started floating away, she turned her back to him and hugged herself.

"I'm just wondering Dad. All I ever see is water this, water that. I'd like to see something... different for a change."

"Ice no longer exist in this world, you'll never see anything different in our section."

"Then am I at least not allowed to dream!?" She screamed at him.

Ryujin stared at her, she stared right back and nearly cried. He made the motion to move over to her, Juvia shook her head and swam away though.

"You're heartless Dad!" She cried out.

When Athena would come home she'd noticed that the water in their home was extremely colder than outside and would find her husband cuddled up in a corner, crying gallons of water as he mumbled their daughter's name over and over again.

Juvia swam through her tears, towards the forbidden dangerous waters of their section. Though their savior would never bring harm, the way over there was dangerous. Rapids were at every twist and turn, not the fun ones either. Juvia was a master at the art of swimming though and easily evaded them all. Her father just didn't understand how important this was to her, to him. If knowing this history could help Gray separate the wall between them, then she wanted to help.

Juvia swam under her lungs started burning, finally arriving at her destination. The great Whirlpool was strange and particular. Tt wasn't fast, but had a slow pace was it span clockwise then counterclockwise. When entering you would be pulled all the way to the top before pulled back in, swimming all the way to the bottom and on and on. Juvia slowly floated in, closing her eyes as she let the current take her.

"Whirlpool, I'm in love with an Ice Element. I love him with my whole heart and I want to be with him, why are we apart though? My father knew nothing of a war, of the Elements still existing. I don't know if I should keep it a secret from him or not, I need to know. How can I meet him? How can I touch my Gray?" She cried tears of jewels.

She didn't get an answer, not that she was expecting one. She was expecting a dream or vision that night as she swam home late, collapsing onto her bed and immediately falling asleep.


	5. Wanting You

**BlackLynx17: I promised a fast update and here it is! I love this story guys and I know you will to once you get to the part where I am on. I had a little problem with this chapter and the next, but I decided that I'm going to do it. What you may be wondering? You're going to have to wait until next chapter to find out! Seriously though, quick update but the chapter is super short. Sorry about that.**

**Thanks for your reviews and I just want to give everyone an update that the new season of Kuroko no Basuke and Durarara x2 (I think it's called) is out right now so go on and watch it! Thanks for reading!**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 5

Wanting You

* * *

_"Is this all there is to the world?"_

_"Of course not, our life is only a small section of the other lands out there. Why would you ever want to leave this sanctuary though?"_

_"I don't know, I just feel... I feel like I could be doing something else, something greater."_

_"Tell me, what is greater than living here, working by my side to protect our people?"_

_"I don't know and that's the problem. Not knowing."_

_"..."_

* * *

"He knew nothing Gray, not anything I haven't told you from before. I'm so sorry." Juvia frowned, finding it hard to stare into his eyes.

So she stared at his lips instead, his smooth looking lips with a hint of icicles on his bottom lip. She saw it turn into a smile and mouth words to her. The both of them had gotten better at reading lips, barely needing the snow and water anymore. They weren't masters yet though so they still had to speak slowly and carefully to each other or else too many words would get them lost.

"It's alright Juvia, I'm having just as much trouble as you." Gray told her.

So they both turned up with dead ends. It seemed like there wasn't any history of other Elements at all in both sections, and though neither of them would give up, if you looked at it from a different perspective it all seemed like a lost cause. Juvia's face lowered as she looked Gray in the eyes, defeat swimming around her. She had to ask him, she wanted to know, had to know.

"What now Gray?"

Gray blinked, his eyebrows furrowing. "What do you mean?"

"What's going to happen now? We can't, we're separate." She said touching the ice. "I won't stop trying to find a way as long as you won't, but what will happen after that? How long will we stay friends? What if one day you don't show, or I don't? How long will you visit me for? Before you become leader? Before you find a wife? Before you have kids? What if all that happens, will you still visit? You're the heir to your Element, are you not? Soon you'll have responsibilities being the only heir, soon I will too. How will we find the time to meet? I'm scared Gray."

It was hard to tell when she was crying sometimes underwater, these tears seemed to glow like small crystals though. Gray watched her as she rambled on, shocked by her sudden words, everything he's been pushing to the back of his mind suddenly sinking in as she voiced them all.

"I don't want us to part. I want to see you every day, every moment of my life. I don't want you to stop, I don't want you to leave. I want to hear you, touch you, know why you love ice so much, feel what ice and snow is. I want to see your home and meet your parents, I want to be closer to you Gray."

It wasn't a love confession, it was as close as what she was going to say to it though. She didn't, she didn't want to confess her true feelings like this, behind a wall. She wanted him to hear her words, feel her as she confessed her long withdrawn feelings. Gray's heart started pounding and beating, hurting inside of his chest. He didn't want to see her cry, couldn't bare to see her like this. What could he do though? What, what? Gray placed his hand over the ice and started pounding on it, hard, trying to break it. Juvia stared at him and read his lips with every pound.

"I want to see you too." He grunted, smashing against the ice harder.

"I want to see your home too, feel the water, know what swimming is, and try to learn to swim myself." He grunted.

"Gray!" Juvia screamed seeing the ice turn red with his blood.

She shook her head at him, yelling at him to stop. Gray couldn't hear and refused to read her lips though, trying to break the ice even more now. Trying to get to her. He didn't care that his fists started bleeding, he didn't care when he couldn't feel them anymore either. Juvia started banging on the wall too, trying to call his attention.

"I want you too." Gray said, finally meeting her eyes.

"Gray." Juvia cried.

She rested her forehead on the ice, closing her eyes as she cried. Gray caught his breath before lying down beside her, staring at her until he spotted her tears before staring up at the snow. It was so peaceful right now, so quiet in the deserted area they were in; Gray's never noticed before.

"I'll start trying harder." Juvia whispered.

"Harder and harder and harder."

Gray turned his head at the harder part and stared. Juvia really was something he's never seen before. She hasn't changed much since he first saw her, her hair still in curls, her eyes still a warm dark blue color. When had he gotten used to seeing her? When had the fascination and awe of seeing a different Element disappear? When did he start thinking that she was just like him, not an Element, but just a person?

"So don't give up, and neither will I."

Gray simply nodded and finally she stopped her tears. It wasn't any confession or promise to be together, it was pretty close though. She would wait, so would he. Neither of them would stop coming to see one another.

How long was that really going to last though?


	6. Sky Priestess & The Demon King

**BlackLynx17: *SPOILERS* *READ AFTER THIS CHAPTER* So a lot of you have been asking questions about everyone else, so here you are! This is what I was wondering about the previous chapter about how to bring in the other people. I always planned on switching P.O.V.'s every chapter, but decided into to get one problem in at a time. At least now you know that the stories are going to go in turns from each section and each element.**

**Thanks for your reviews everyone, please remember to leave me your reviews again. I really appreciate your advice and thoughts about my stories. Thank you, thank you. If any of you have a better summary, please review or message it to me. I still hate my current one and can't think of anything else. I hate how we judge a fanfiction on the summaries because my fanfictions are good, my summaries suck though. Hahaha.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 6

Sky Priestess &amp; The Demon King

* * *

Water and Ice Elements were the first to start the end of their world, the two Elements alone weren't enough to pull something like that off though. They were the first to try and change their sections, not the only. It was a chain reaction; once Water and Ice made the first discovery the other Elements fell right behind. Though other Elements started finding each other out around the same time after Water and Ice, we are going to focus on the next section and go in order from there before coming back to our original two Elements. Section 2, Lightning and Sky.

A young, petite Sky Element with fair skin, barely the age to gain her wings but with her being an early bloomer, flew around her kingdom at a frightening pace. Her long, dark blue hair flew wildly behind her like a hurricane as she zoomed through the sky, the wings on her ankles and wrists keeping her airborne. The smile on her face could match a rainbow's happiness, her eyes closed shut as she enjoyed the cool breeze of the winds against every part of her skin. For a second she stopped moving, free falling from the sky. Her eyelids lifted, revealing a pair of dark brown eyes as she watched the clouds pass her by, reaching out to touch the softness. Using her wings again, she flipped around and dove down, rising up through the clouds while spinning. Finally giving herself a pause, the Sky Element hovered in the sky with a grand smile on her face as she stared at the clouds around her.

"What have I told you about pushing your wings Wendy?"

She looked behind her and saw her best friend in the whole world flying towards her with their other best two friends. Not exactly Elements, but Exceeds were what they were called. Three of them with a wide range of fur color from blue to white to brown. Wendy giggled as she flew over to her best friend Charlie, flying around her slowly.

"I wasn't pushing myself, I still feel like I can fly for hours." Wendy breathed out breathlessly.

"That's how it always starts, remember what happened when Happy first gained his wings though?" Pantherlily asked her flying over.

Wendy pouted, thinking back on the day, knowing he made a good point.

"Hey! We promised not to talk about that day ever again!" Happy paled, flapping his wing furiously.

Charlie snorted thinking back and soon Pantherlily started to as well. Wendy joined in their laughter and soon the Sky Element and two Exceeds were laughing it out. Happy blushed in embarrassment, not finding the story funny in the slightest, and covered his face as her flew off in shame.

"You guys are mean!"

"No! Happy! Wait!" Wendy called reaching out for him.

He already shot in the distance though, way too far for her to simply stretch out her arm and reach him. It was dangerous to enter the outside skies of the kingdom alone, the demons might come and attack him! Wendy started panicking, never meaning to hurt Happy that much, and flew right after him.

"Wait Wendy, he'll find his way back to us sooner or later. Let's go home." Charlie said.

"We don't abandon our friends Charlie, especially when the Demon King is about to come! We have to find him!" Wendy said flying off.

"She's right, knowing Happy he'll probably get lost." Pantherlily said flying right behind her.

"Whatever." Charlie sighed following after him.

The three of them started flying through the sky, looking for a speck of blue in the pinkish white clouds that surrounded them everywhere. As the day grew longer, Wendy started to get more and more worried. She started looking more frantically, flying even faster, pushing herself more as she tried to find him.

"Where could he be?!"

"Probably lost." Charlie snorted.

"It's getting late, the others will start looking for us soon if we don't make it home for curfew. We should split up and regroup at home in half an hour. It's the wisest thing to do." Pantherlily stated.

"But what if we don't find him?" Wendy asked.

"Then we head home, gather others to start helping us. We're wasting time now though, I'll continue flying straight. Charlie you got left and Wendy, try up. If you fly high enough maybe you can spot him through the clouds."

"Right," Wendy nodded, "half an hour. Good luck you two!" She started flying up, up, up, disappearing into the clouds.

"What were you thinking Pantherlily?! She just got her wings, she can't fly long distances!" Charlie yelled.

"She isn't just going to return home either! Thirty minutes, she should be able to fly for that long. Flying straight up is the easiest as well, she'll be fine. If you're that worried though let's hurry up and find Happy." He argued with her.

Charlie glared and pouted, swishing her tail around as she flew away, making sure her tail smacked him against the face. Pantherlily simply rolled his eyes as he flew off as well. Wendy was alone, searching for Happy. The higher she flew, the more worried she got. Their kingdom was endless, the sky the limit, and Wendy was just one Sky Element; barely an adult.

"HAPPY!" She yelled out.

The wind was her answer, breezing past her. How long had it been since they all split up? It felt like a while, maybe 15 or 20 minutes? She was supposed to meet back with them soon... Wendy turned around and started flying back home despite her longing to find Happy. She wasn't giving up, but leaving for help.

That's when something strange happened. Her wings, they started fading. Wendy's eyes widened as she tried grasping on them, calling back her energy. Her pinkish white feathers attached to her wrists vanished, as well as the ones on her ankles. She was hovering for a good three seconds before she started falling.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her voice cracked as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

It wasn't fun, it wasn't free. She was falling, falling fast, falling forever. The sky was endless, no one had found the bottom to it, although no one had tried to; they've been warned not to venture too far away from home. She should have listened, listened to Charlie, known that she couldn't have flew far because she was new at this. Too little, too late. She was going to fall to her death now, she was going to die.

"Good bye Mom." Wendy said closing her eyes.

She fell for an endless amount of time, though in reality it was probably ten minutes or so. She relaxed her body and let herself fall, gaining a small amount of hope. She was resting, she could feel herself regaining her strength slowly. If she fell long enough, she could recover and start flying again. That wouldn't happen though seeing as she found the bottom of her world. With a great thump, she landed on something invisible to her. Her head started ringing and her eyesight turned hazy as they started spinning. She passed out after that.

She woke up later to laughter, the sky a bluish white color mixing in with the pinkish clouds. Wendy hated the night, hated the stories behind it. How a demon used to rule over their kingdom, but her ancestors banished them outside of their skies. Though he wasn't able to enter again, he still cursed their Element by bringing them darkness and night. His powers were weak though so the night only lasted for so long, it always came back once he regained his strength.

This was not the time to be remembering about the past, she was dead. Or at least, she thought she was until she heard laughter again. Slowly she blinked and leaned up, clutching her head.

"You alright little one?"

There was no one around her, someone was clearly talking to her though. The darkness was not her ally as it hid everything. The voice, the male voice, could have been hiding behind the clouds, the darkness, anywhere. With shaking legs she stood to her feet and started looking around for help. She heard a long whistle.

"What a sight, at least let me take you on a date first."

Wendy blinked, slowly looking down. Underneath her she saw a man, dressed in rags and leather of all black and blue, with bright green eyes shining in the night that reminded her of Exceed's eyes. His hair style was different from their own, he was nearly bald with a gruesome scar on the side of his head. Sky Elements were masters of healing, so it was weird seeing a scar on the fellow Sky Element. He was staring back up at her, his face a light shade of red as he tried averting his eyes. Wendy looked down at herself and noticed that she was wearing a dress.

...

...

"AHHHH! PERVERT!" She screamed, falling back down and covering herself.

"You were the one who flashed me." He grinned at her.

Wendy blushed a bright red and glared, baring her fangs. "Who are you?! I demand to know now!"

"Demand? Didn't your mother teach you any manners? That's not how you ask for someone's name."

He... he didn't look like a Sky Element. Wendy sensed no essence of the sky on him, no wings or feathers, no bright clothing with fluff, and those eyes...they weren't common in her kingdom. His skin color was a little darker, tanner, but there was a gentleness around him that was similar to a Sky Elements. Wendy leaned down above the man and tried to reach out for his face, not being able to touch it. Doranbolt stared back at Wendy just as confused, trying to figure out what she was. He'd never seen a girl like her and was sure as hell he would have remembered if he did.

"What are you?" She asked, pressing her hand against nothing.

She was floating in the middle of the air right now; her magic wasn't on though. The strange Sky Element seemed to be floating in the midair also... wait a second, he was sitting down on something dark, something black and fluffy like a- like a cloud. He was sitting on a black cloud... clouds were black? Wendy just kept getting more and more confused.

"I think the question here little one is who are you? I'm racing around near here and all of a sudden I see a blur of blue, so I go explore it. I'm expecting something like another Element playing a prank or over using his energy, but what I find is you, sleeping somehow in midair drooling and snoring above me. Thank Thunder Cloud for the barrier between us or else I would have be slobbered on."

Wendy blushed a bright red and glared, "you're not very nice are you?"

"It's called teasing little one-"

"And stop calling me that! I'm not little, I already grew out my wings. I'm consider a young lady from where I'm from."

"Well excuse me then," Doranbolt exaggerated as he bowed down a little, "young lady."

"The name's Wendy Marvell, call me Wendy or Wens."

Doranbolt hummed, thinking about it, "young lady, Wens, Wendy... sorry kid, little one fits better."

Wendy huffed and looked around. If it was dark now then that must have meant she rested for a very long time. She could feel her energy back, flowing through each and every muscle and though it wasn't all the way there, it should be enough to fly back home. Or at least, she hoped.

"Well then good-bye stranger, it was horrible talking to you." Wendy said sticking out her tongue.

Her wings appeared on her wrists and ankles and she bent her knees to start flying upwards; words stopped her though and made her hesitate.

"You're a Sky Element?!"

There was general sound of surprise and shock in his voice and when Wendy looked down, she saw his facial expressions had matched his voice perfectly. She didn't get it.

"Yeah..." She said slowly, narrowing her eyes.

"You're, you're, you're supposed to be extinct!"

Wendy let her wings fade as she bent down on her knees, "no we aren't. There is a whole kingdom of us up in the clouds."

"Us?" Doranbolt repeated.

"Yeah, us. Aren't you one too? What, did you think you were the only one?"

Doranbolt lifted up his hand and snapped his fingers, a second later electricity appeared at the tips of his fingers and started surging.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A Lightning Element! Wendy's eyes widened and she started running, so scared she couldn't think about flying off. So she ran, paralyzed in shock.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Doranbolt yelled zapping underneath her.

"STAY AWAY!" She shrieked, running left.

The demon that had tormented her people for countless of years, his disciple was right underneath her. If he caught her, he would kidnap her and drag her to the dark underworlds. Wendy couldn't let that happen, she didn't want to be tortured by demons. She's never felt lightning before, but she's heard it hurts!

"WENDY!"

Wendy tripped at the sound of her name being called and saw Doranbolt before she fell. He held his arms out to catch her, but she fell down against the barrier and Doranbolt felt like an idiot. Why would... why would he try to catch her though? Wasn't he evil? Catching people as they fell was a nice thing to do.

"Why'd you run?" Doranbolt asked, confused.

"Because you're a Lightening Element!" She spat out, "the evilest Element in the world! It's your fault my kingdom has to suffer night every day! Because your Demon King punishes us for kicking him out!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, evilest? Night? Demon King? I think somebody has been lying to you or something little one. Our king isn't a demon, sure at times he acts like one, but Laxus is no demon. And this darkness you are seeing right now, it's not our doing, but the moon."

Wendy shouldn't be listening to his words of lies... she didn't know any better though.

"Moon?" She asked.

"Yeah, the moon is night and the sun is day. Our world spins you know, so for half a day we get the sun, which makes it light, while the other half of the world gets the moon, which is what we're experiencing right now, but it doesn't stay that way. My Element has nothing to do with it turning dark, the worse we can do is make thunderstorms."

"Thunderstorms?" Wendy asked again.

"Has your Element taught you anything of the other Elements out there?" Doranbolt asked.

"Well, have you been taught about my Element?" Wendy countered.

"Little things, like the wings and flying and eating air and stuff like that. We were taught that you all were extinct though, that a great beast kidnapped a handful of your kind and ate you; that's why we shouldn't venture far from home. I knew all that was a bunch of lies though and here you are to prove my point."

Wendy blinked slowly, "all I've been told is that the Lightning Elements didn't want to live in peace with the Sky Elements, so they ventured away from home and became demons."

"Looks like we've both been lied to then, huh?"

Wendy calmed down and stared at Doranbolt, blinking lightly. "So you aren't going to kidnap and torture me?"

"No Wendy, do I look like the type who does that?"

With the clothes he was wearing, the smirk on his face, and the way he could control electricity at the tips of his fingers... a little. His eyes are what changed her mind though, so kind and bright.

"I... guess not. I still don't know who you are though."

"Doranbolt Gryder." Doranbolt introduced holding his hand out.

Wendy tried to touch it, the barrier stood in her way though.

"I keep forgetting about this." She said.

"It is a little strange, at least we can see and hear each other though." Doranbolt said.

Wendy nodded and for a while, the two of them stared at each other. In her Element, people didn't have such dark hair. The darkest was Wendy's shade, her midnight blue, while the rest were whites, bright pinks, and purples. For Doranbolt it wasn't exactly the same, most people had his shade of black, blondes, and a few brown heads here or there. Their eyes were different as well; though everyone in the Lightning Element had bright eyes, red, blues, yellows, greens, like Doranbolt's, the brightest in Wendy's home was red, a soft red though. The rest were brown and black, a purple here or there if you're lucky.

"We look so different." She finally spoke.

"Not really, see? We both have two hands." Doranbolt said lifting his up.

Wendy giggled.

"Two feet, two eyes, two ears, a nose. A beautiful smile."

Wendy started laughing more and blushed, rolling her eyes.

"So you can be kind." She said.

Doranbolt chuckled as well before his face turned serious.

"So tell me little one, why were you passed out over here?"

"I was searching for a friend and-" friend... Happy! What time was it? Where was he? Had the others found him? Wendy had forgotten all about her other friends and immediately stood up. She had to fly to them, what was she still doing here?

"I'm sorry, but I have to go." She yelled at him.

"Wait a second, Wendy!" Doranbolt called out.

She bit her bottom lip as she stared down at him. She wanted to meet him again, talk to him a little bit more, learn more about him. No one has seen a Lightning Element in a thousand years... an opportunity like this wasn't going to happen again.

"Tomorrow, when the Demon Kin-... the - sun, almost spins around completely." She told him.

Doranbolt nodded and Wendy took off into the sky. He stayed there floating for a minute before blushing, looking away. That was the third time she's flashed him now. Hopefully she would be smart enough to wear shorts or pants tomorrow, Doranbolt thought as he surged off.


	7. Dreyar & Gryder

**BlackLynx17: I am unsatisfied with the latest update of Fairy Tail. I want my year later already. Those who read the Gildarts one, the chapter was talking about how it has been two years since Gildarts seen Natsu. I did not understand that logic, so it's been two years since they've all returned from the island? Can anyone give me some insight about that? Thank you!**

**Thanks for the reviews, please continue to pile them on me please. It doesn't take long, just tell me that you love me with a wink. Lol, really thank you everybody. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 7

Dreyar &amp; Gryder

* * *

"So I met a Sky Element today Laxus and it was the strangest thing."

Laxus Dreyar, King of the Lightning Elements, slowly put down the book he was reading and stared at his closest friend and relative. They've known each other since childhood, grown up in the same household, and Laxus knew he was a prankster and joker, so he blinked before brushing the sentence off.

"Good one." He said flipping the page.

"I'm serious! I was racing around the clouds, practicing my skills, and then I saw her! She had wings Lax, all right here and here!" Doranbolt exclaimed touching his wrists then hopping on one foot as he grabbed his ankle, "and this extremely dark blue hair! She wasn't a Lightning Element at all, or if she was then a one of a kind one! I've never seen her around our lightning clouds at all though."

"Where is she then?" Laxus asked playing along as he half listened, half continued to read his book.

"That's the thing, she's sort of beside us or well above us, all depends on where we float. I mean, there's like this barrier Lax and I can see her and she can see me and we can hear each other just fine, but we can't touch."

"Touching Doranbolt? On the first meeting?"

Doranbolt rolled his eyes and snorted, "I'm being serious."

"Alright, then show me. Tomorrow."

Doranbolt wiggled his nose in a funny way, "I don't think that's a bright idea."

"Knew you were lying."

"Laxus! I'm serious! She thought I was this demon when I showed up! Apparently it's our fault it gets dark and the Demon King and all this other nonsense. In shorter words, she's scared of our kind so I don't want to scare her off. When was the last time anyone heard of a Sky Element?"

"They're dead."

"Well she isn't, and there might be more of her. I don't know why there's a barrier between us, but I want to learn more about the Sky Elements. When she's ready I'll slip your name in and see if she wants to meet you, who knows. She might actually bring more Sky Elements and we could-"

"Could what? Reunite our Elements? Do you realize how crazy that sounds? We've had no contact, no word whatsoever from them for several generations! They could be the actually demons, tricking you genius."

"Wendy wouldn't do that." Doranbolt argued.

"Wendy, so she has a name."

Doranbolt rolled his eyes and turned away, "go screw yourself Laxus. Sorry for informing you about something happening in your kingdom, but whatever."

"Doranbolt!" He called after but Doranbolt just ignored him.

He went to his room and laid down on his cloud bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wanted to see her, to talk to her more. He wanted to ask her countless of questions, explain countless of answers she had... he wanted to know what made the Sky Elements tick. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and she had agreed to see him again. Doranbolt wasn't about to let this chance slip from his fingers.

* * *

Wendy flew up in the air, for what felt like hours. It was the dead of night, clouds surrounding every part of her. She could hear in the distance though her cloudom, her home. She could hear the flapping of wings above her and started pushing herself a little bit harder. Through the final clutter of clouds, she saw it. Their Utopia, her home. An island floating in the clouds, Sky Island. That wasn't all she saw though, dozens of Sky Elements were flying around frantically around her home

"I SEE HER!"

Suddenly, they were all coming towards her to her rescue. Wendy was carried, pet, hugged, checked, lectured, frowned upon, cried about, and loved for the next three hours. Apparently Charlie had been able to find Happy and locate Pantherlily; none of them were able to find her though. They had returned to the island for help and everyone's been searching for her for hours. Wendy finally returned home, completely tired after getting check on, but wasn't finished yet.

"You worried everybody." Her mother said when she walked in their home.

"I'm sorry Mother."

"Just because you've gained your wings doesn't mean you can push your limits. You should know better Wendy."

"I'm sorry Mother." Wendy whispered.

Porlyusica sighed, "go to bed. I'll talk to your tomorrow."

"Yes Mother... can I ask you something though?"

"What is it Wendy?" Porly asked.

"What do you know... about Lightning Elements?"

Porlyusica's eyes widened in the slightest, "that is... a conversation for another time Wendy. Maybe when you're older, I'm tired now though so please go to sleep."

Wendy sighed and yawned, walking over to her room. Charlie was already in there, curled up in a small ball on her pillow. Wendy quickly changed her outfit into pajamas and crawled into bed, lying right next to her.

"What happened?" Charlie asked.

"I was flying, but my magic failed and I started falling."

Charlie's eyes opened wide as she stared at Wendy, "then how- shouldn't you be dead?"

Wendy giggled and rolled around, "it's a long story."

"I'm all ears for you Wendy."

Wendy giggled and stared to explain the long tale of Doranbolt Gryder and the Lightning Elements.

* * *

"You're not allowed to fly for more than thirty minutes a day Wendy, and when you do you require supervision. That is your punishment." She was lectured.

"Yes Mother." Wendy sighed.

Her mother exhaled though her nose and leaned on the table, placing a hand against her cheek as she watched her daughter eat breakfast.

"So, are you going to tell me about the sudden interest in the Lightning Elements yesterday?"

Wendy gulped heavily, not thinking it was the brightest idea to tell her mother about Doranbolt since she was the leader of their Element. What if her mother banished her from visiting him? Wendy didn't want that, she wanted to see Doranbolt again.

"While I was flying in the dark I just started wondering about the Lightning Elements and why they make the world dark."

"You already know the history though dear." Porlyusica said.

"I know, I was just wondering if there was something I didn't know."

Porlyusica stared at her and Wendy shook her head, "it's alright. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to visit some friends of mine, alright Mother?"

"Be back an hour before curfew."

She paused momentarily as she got out of her seat. An hour before curfew was sunset, the time Wendy was meeting Doranbolt. She wasn't going to be able to keep that promise; she'll just have to tell him to start meeting up earlier next time.

"Yes Mother!"

She ran outside of the house, Charlie flying after her. Wendy hopped down the fluffy steps and started making her way into town, Charlie right on her tail. Sky Island was a utopia made completely from the clouds in the sky and home to the Sky Elements and their neighbors the Exceeds. Floating in the sky with a rainbow always shining above them during the day, Wendy ran down the soft pinkish white clouds in shape of stairs, passing by friends and neighbors. Even though she lived here, Wendy was still amazed on the beauty of her home; little cloud houses, cloud shaped flowers, cloud parks where she'd play at with the other kids, but the most impressive was the free clouds just floating in the wind. Wendy felt just like them yesterday, floating in the wind with her wings.

"I don't want you visiting the Lightning Element." Charlie meowed when the coast was clear.

"I want to see him though." Wendy responded back.

"Why can't you just like a Sky Element boy? Or no boys! I prefer that!" She meowed.

Wendy blushed bright pink, "I don't like Doranbolt!"

Several heads turned at her outburst; Wendy blushed brighter and started flying now down the steps to get away.

"Why else are you meeting him?"

"Because I'm curious, everything we've been taught is a lie Charlie. The Lightning Elements aren't actually demons! They don't have a demon king, they don't capture Sky Elements and eat them up, they don't even make the sky dark and night! It's actually the world we are living on, spinning around and around."

Wendy tried to explain this to her in a way she would understand, all Charlie heard was foolishness though.

"He's filling your head with lies Wendy, can't you see that?"

"He's not lying."

"And how would you know that?"

"Call it feeling, I know he isn't though."

Charlie glared hard, "fine then! I'm going with you today!"

"No!" Wendy shouted.

She simply stared at her and the young princess gulped, "at least... not today Charlie. Tomorrow for sure."

"You're going to meet him again after today?"

"I'm going to meet with him as many times as I can to learn things! So yes, tomorrow as well unless he does something mean today. Then I'll never see him again."

Charlie flew to her level, "I just don't want anything to happen to you Wendy."

"And nothing will, trust me. There's a barrier around us, he couldn't touch me even if he tried."

"Has he tried?"

Wendy giggled, thinking back. "I think we both did."

"Wendy, I am forbidding you-"

"Please Charlie? Please?" Wendy asked, putting on her best kitty cat look.

Charlie flinched and leaned back.

"Please? This is a once in a life time opportunity, please just cover for me?" She said, on the verge of tears.

Charlie's heart started racing and she looked the other way, her will quickly falling. With one last look at Wendy, she was a goner.

* * *

Wendy slowly glided down, getting more and more scared the farther she fell. She didn't fall this far down below last time, did she? This was taking forever! Wendy gulped before vanishing her wings, dropping like a stone. She screamed on they way down, flipping around before she stared straight down. If she wasn't careful she'd end up smashing against the barrier again and that would hurt. It was a much faster ride down, and when she saw Doranbolt's image she quickly started flying again and landed on top of him with grace.

"Hi Doranbolt." She said kneeling down to him.

"Pants today? I was hoping for a little peek." He flirted.

Wendy blushed and looked away, "I can leave if you want."

"Now why would I want that?" He asked.

Wendy was speechless and Doranbolt gave her a cute, flirtatious smile. He sat down on a little black rain cloud and crossed his legs, lying back as he looked at her.

"So Wendy, how was your day?" He asked.

"Other than telling my best friend about you and getting punished by my mom, alright."

"Tell me the truth, were you thinking about me the whole day?" He flashed a grin.

Wendy blushed and screamed out, "NO!"

"Aw, I'm hurt. I know I was."

She slowly looked back at him and saw... he was telling the truth. The blush calmed down a bit and she stared back at him, turning her head as she examined him more closely. If there was anything that scared her about him it was his eyes. The eyes were the scariest, seeming like they could see right into her.

"So punished by mother huh? I knew you were young, but not that young." Doranbolt told her.

Wendy pouted, "I'm not that young. Soon I'll have my coronation and start training to be Queen one day."

Doranbolt's eyes raised in the slightest, "Queen? You're a princess?"

Wendy smirked, finally having one up on him.

"Yup, my Mom's the ruler of the Sky Elements and as her only daughter I'm next for her throne."

"Well excuse me then, your majesty." Doranbolt teased.

Wendy glared while he started playing with electricity in his hands.

"Wow though, so you choose rulers by blood? The Lightnings pick by the fastest. Each year we have a race and whoever wins is our ruler for the year." Doranbolt explained.

Wendy found this fascinating and leaned closer to him, "really? A race?"

"Yeah, brains and brawns don't matter to Lightning Elements. We're all about speed and being free, you know? I'm sure you know about the free part with your wings and all."

Wendy smiled, "yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about."

"So Wendy, tell me about the skies you live in." Doranbolt said getting comfortable.

Wendy opened her mouth, before stopping and pouting; Doranbolt raised an eyebrow at her.

"Charlie said you were using me, that you didn't really want to become my friend." She said.

"Well Charlie sounds like she doesn't know me because I am your friend." He told her.

Wendy blinked at him, "then you tell all your secrets first."

Doranbolt grinned brightly, "gladly. I was born in the middle of a thunderstorm, no hold on, let's go even further than back. My great, great, great grandfather was born in the middle of a thunderstorm."

His great, great, great grandfather was born in the middle of a thunderstorm, which wasn't uncommon in the Lightning Kingdom. It was considered holy, days that thunderstorms happened, and being born on that day brought you great luck. His kids and his kid's kids were all born in thunderstorms, that's not important now though. He was one of the founders to the Lightning Elements, his sister the great Mavis Vermillion being the Queen. She always loved venturing out into storms, seeing how fast she could push herself. She was the one who decided after gathering everyone up that the fastest Lightning Element should be the leader. She gave every an equal chance, but this was all a trick because her brother knew that no one could beat her. So she was the leader until the day she died, still being the fastest Lightning Element as a grandma.

With her as the leader there wasn't really any complaints and soon she married a man, Yury Dreyar. They had twelve sons and four girls while Doranbolt's grandfather and Mavis's elder brother, Ryuji Gryder, had only half a dozen or so. Doranbolt would often trail off, Wendy didn't mind though as she listened to everything with interest. He skipped a few generations until up to recently, talking about Markarov Dreyar, his great uncle, who became the 9th King of the Lightning Elements. He only had one son, who wasn't cut out to be the Lightning Element's King, so for the first time a Gryder became King of their Elements, Doranbolt's grandfather. Once Laxus was born though the Dreyar family retook their crown and has been leading ever since.

"So wait a second, you're talking like all this happened a few days ago but it's been a thousand years since Lightning and Sky Elements have met. What was your history about the other Elements?" Wendy asked.

"It was 400 years ago when Mavis was leader, she wasn't around the Sky Elements time. In all honestly, no one really knows about the history about the Lightning Elements before Mavis. There must have been a kingdom before or something, someone who was here before Mavis. Our history states she made the home we know today though, created everything with the help of our savior, which is actually just a thunder cloud, but apparently it's THE Thunder Cloud."

They had a savior also?

"Strange, we also have a savior. Ours is referred to as the Sky Cloud though."

Doranbolt started laughing, "seriously? So both our Elements worship something so simply as a cloud?"

"Stop laughing at my savior!" Wendy yelled.

Doranbolt closed his mouth shut and cleared his throat, "excuse me. I forget some people don't have my same sense of humor."

Wendy quickly forgave him and continued to ask questions, "so 600 years of history, just lost?"

"Yeah, as well as the Elements history. No one else knows about Elements except Laxus, he was the one who told me about Sky, Earth, Shadow, Light, Fire, Water, and Ice. I believe when you're king you get certain access to history books or something, I could ask him next time I see him. Any more questions?"

Wendy had dozens as she started asking about what his home was like, his family, his king, his people, how they lived, slept, eat, flew. Doranbolt was getting overloaded and started shaking his head.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I meant history. Before we get into lifestyle I want to know about yours as well. It's only fair."

Wendy nodded and bit her lip, it was fair.

"Okay. In the beginning of time, we were all fated to die." She started.

Doranbolt blinked, "die?"

"Yup! We lived on land, in a horrible area that wasn't livable. We don't know why, but there was no food, little water, beasts that would pick us off one by one. It was a horrible place to live in, one day angels came flying from the sky though. These angels were different from us, small creatures with fur all over their body instead of skin and with tails and pointy ears, but they had beautiful wings."

Wings that were able to fly off into the clouds, into the sky and feel the breeze running through their fur. They descended upon the lowly creatures and taught them the ability to fly, to spread their wings and escape their hellish home. Once they were in the sky, the beasts couldn't fly so they couldn't eat them anymore. The Sky Elements got hungry though, how would they eat without land? The Exceeds taught them how to eat the air next and the clouds, how to drink the waters from the pouring rainclouds. Once they were full the Elements started getting tired and weak, how would they sleep in the sky? That's when a giant cloud island flew over towards them, a rainbow glowing above as it welcomed the Sky Elements in.

"Later when everyone had settled in their new home and embraced their new Element, we asked the Exceeds why they saved us. They didn't, they told my people. They didn't even know we existed until the great Sky Cloud told them. She was always watching over us, in the sky above, weeping when we died, shining bright when we needed her sun rays, always wishing she could help us. She found the Exceeds in her sky one day and begged them to save us, so they did and now we all live in harmony. Our Queen was an Exceed, always continued to be an Exceed for hundreds of years since they saved us, one day it became a Sky Element though and has continued until me." Wendy explained.

"So you were all once just normal beings? On land?" Doranbolt asked.

"Yup. We never know why the Sky Cloud took an interest in us, we are grateful every single day though."

"And these Exceeds, they taught you to fly?"

"Yup, they shared whatever power they had and bless us with wings." Wendy said showing him hers.

Doranbolt examined them closely, seeing the bright pink feathers turning into a clear white. Their stories had taken hours all together, night coming upon them. Neither of them left though as their as they let the tales sink into their minds.

"Wait a minute though, what does the Demon King have anything to do with the history then? If you lived on the Earthland, didn't you experience night and day?"

Wendy blinked, thinking it over.

"The beasts, I believe. The beasts were demons and would only come after us at... night. That must have been it, that's why Lightning Elements are demons. It's written that the beasts learned to fly themselves and turned into demons to do it. Our kingdom was endless sunshine, our island must have been moving though. It must have moved with the sun, Sky Cloud must have been moving our island so we'd never have to experience the night again. Something happened though, we've been experiencing night for 1000 years now so something must have happened that made our Sky Cloud unable to move. The demons don't live with us though, they're unable to find us. It's written that they started their own kingdom, the Lightning Elements, and that the Demon King caught up and made it night. Something's missing though, you told me yourself you aren't demons and you don't control the night. It makes sense that we're getting night because we're not following the sun anymore, but can't our island move anymore?"

She was able to figure out so much about her history, see the holes and lies in it. Doranbolt started thinking as well, wishing he could fill in the blanks with his history knowledge. She was talking about well over a thousand years though and his knowledge only went back 400 years.

"Well I must be off Doranbolt, it was nice talking to you again." Wendy said finally noticing the lack of light.

"Wait." Doranbolt said reaching out.

Wendy giggled as his hand slammed against the glass, "we'll meet again tomorrow. It has to be sooner though, I have a curfew now before sunset. Come here earlier than that and I'll do the same, until then though."

She sprouted her wings and started flying off into the dark clouds. Doranbolt blinked as he watched her fly off, staring for a few minutes before going back home. He met Laxus in the throne room, him looking bored as usual as he thought to himself.

"Doranbolt, how was the Sky Element today?" Laxus asked.

Doranbolt stared at him, "Laxus? Do you know anything about the history of the Lightning Elements before Mavis?"

Laxus stared right back, "yeah. There's a whole room filled a bunch of junk books about it, not that any of it matters. The only interesting thing that happens is with Grandma Mavis which is why that's all they teach people."

"Really? Where's this room?"

"No can do Doranbolt, king's only allowed."

Doranbolt strolled up to him and leaned against his throne, examining his nails.

"Like, really?" He asked.

"Yeah, like seriously. I don't care either way, but there's a rule about it and I don't want to deal with the consequences."

"Well then can you tell me-"

"My hands are tied Doranbolt."

Doranbolt took a breath and sighed out, teleporting out of the room and coming back with a chair in hand. He set it next to Laxus's and kicked his feet up, placing it on the throne as he relaxed.

"Well let me tell you what I learned today about the Sky Elements."

Laxus smirked lightly and leaned his head back, "tell away."


	8. Sky Queen Wendy

**BlackLynx17: So everyone I put a bit of a timeskip in this chapter by a few months. I could have drag it all out, I don't think it would have done this story any justice though since I explained the main parts of everything. You didn't miss anything, trust me, just Wendy and Doranbolt flirting around for a while.**

**Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy.**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 8

Sky Queen Wendy

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"I thought we had an agreement Wendy." Porlyusica lectured.

"We do, I took a catnap with Charlie in the clouds though and lost track of time I'm sorry Mother." Wendy said, staring at the floor.

Porlyusica sighed and shook her head, "how many times must I tell you not to sleep in the clouds Wendy? They could drift off away from the island and you could be lost forever."

"It's not like our island moves though, I could just fly back the other way."

A glass jar broke and Wendy flinched, looking back at her mother. Porlyusica ignored the spill and spun towards her daughter, her eyes wide with distressed.

"Have you been sneaking into my books again?" She asked.

Wendy gulped, having a feeling that something like that was supposed to be a secret so she just nodded her head. Better than saying no and trying to explain how she knew of such a thing.

"I understand your curiosity Wendy, you need to understand those are books you'll be learning after you take the crown. Your sixteen birthday is almost upon us, in a few more months you'll learn all of our history of our people and secrets. Until then though, I'm going to need you to start obeying our rules."

"Yes Mother."

"Good, now try and go to bed now."

"Good night!" Wendy called before leaving the room.

She walked into her room and opened up the window, letting Charlie fly in. This time she didn't feel like talking about Doranbolt, no matter how much she pestered her. Wendy just stared out of the window, watching the night clouds fly by as she thought about him.

* * *

Wendy stared at herself in the reflection of her mirror, seeing someone she didn't know. She saw a beautiful, bea-ti-ful Sky Dragon dressed from head to toe in the finest silks and materials that Sky Island had to over. Jewels surrounded her neck, gold and silver bracelets on her arms and wrists, while huge jewel rings were on each of her fingers. She looked like a true princess, the only thing missing was her crown. She wasn't going to get that until later today though when she was crowned in front of all her people. Though all these items she wore were beautiful and ancient, passed down from generation to generation, the one thing that held the most value was the Sky Crown, forged from bits and pieces of clouds from their savior.

Wendy was silent and kept her eyes closed as her Elements fixed up her hair in the ceremonial way and placed on her makeup. Suddenly they all left her she was left alone in the room, looking at herself in the mirror. Her gown was a pure white one, layers upon layers of pink fabric over it with glitter that made it sparkly. Her hair was tied up into two high ponytails, wrapping around in braids with sky flowers falling down to her back. Her makeup looked like the sky itself, a mixture of pink and white around her eyes, her cheeks more red, her lips a soft pink. She looked older, much more respectible and reliable. This was all a disguise though, Wendy hasn't changed at all. She still looked the same underneath all of this, still acted the same, though her knowledge had improved greatly, she still ignored the rules and went to visit her little lightning secret.

Wendy turned her head away, having enough of herself, and stood up from her chair. She walked over to the window in her room and looked out at the sky. The first thing she wanted to do was show Doranbolt how she looked, pout as she teased him though he would only be kidding. She couldn't meet Doranbolt though, there was no way she could sneak out without being seen and besides everyone was waiting, their whole Element, just for her. Maybe after the ceremony though, if the party was big enough.

It's been four months since she's meant him. Every day they would meet and talk about everything, their families, their elements, their likes, dislikes, and cultures, everything a girl and a boy could talk about. One thing they never talked about was their relationship.

They were friends, though neither of them said it out loud. They had to have been though or else why would they meet every day? Right? Wendy suddenly pouted and closed the window. Doranbolt better consider her a friend or else she was going to hurt him the day they finally could touch.

"Wendy? It's almost time, your mother sent me to get you. Are you- oh Wendy, you look so beauitful." Charlie said softly, her breath hitching up.

Wendy looked up and over, smiling at her best friend, "thank you Charlie."

"Don't forget about the little people alright when you're Queen." She sniffed, wiping some tears away.

"Charlie I could never forget about you, we live together remember?"

The two Sky Elements started giggling and went over to each other, sharing hugs and small kisses.

"Are you ready?"

Wendy pulled away and gulped, nodding her head. She wasn't really nervous to begin with, she knew her people. She met each and every one of them, humans and Exceeds, and loved each and every one of them. It was a holiday on the island as Wendy Marvell took the throne, every citizen being there to witness. A joyous occasion, one that wouldn't be forgotten throughout all of history. Their new queen was crowned.

"I'd like to take this time and thank everyone who is here right now and hope you all know I love you. Our Element has lived in peace for the last thousand years and I will make sure we'll continue to have peace for as long as I'm your Queen. Long live Sky Elements!"

The crowds erupted all around her and all Wendy could think about was where the sun was in the sky. Her crown felt heavy on her head though made of clouds, her ceremonial robe that was placed on her as well an even greater burden. Her mother started addressing their Elements and Wendy waited until the appropriate moment befoe she exited the stage. She stayed in the sidelines, waiting more her mother to finish up her speech and meet her over.

"If you don't mind Mother, I'd like to visit the great Sky Cloud before we celebrate and give my thanks." Wendy told her, bowing her head lightly.

"You are queen now Wendy, you no longer need to bow to your Mother. Of course you may, don't take too long though. A lot of people are waiting to meet you."

Wendy nodded at her mother and hugged her tight before running off. She made her way over to the Sky Cloud, she wouldn't be going there though. Jumping into one cloud's soft spot, she started falling through and had to hold onto her crown so it wouldn't fall off. She giggled and laughed as she finally fell through her island, making her wings appear before flying down towards the barrier as fast as she could.

Wendy made out his figure, lying down on one of his thunderclouds lazily playing with a lightning bolt. He looked up suddenly and spotted something flying towards him fast. His heart skipped a beat when she landed, in all her queen outfit glory. She looked, she looked... breathtaking. It took a few seconds for Doranbolt to absorb everything in, blinking when he remembered himself. She looked completely different than how she used to, but his Wendy was still there underneath it all with that cute smirk.

"Your majesty." He bowed as low as he could.

Wendy giggled and took off her crown and coat, "shut it Doranbolt, I just came from my coronation like five minutes ago."

"And then you rushed over to see me? How sweet. Am I the first one to congratulate the new Sky Queen Wendy?" He asked.

"If you don't count the screaming Sky Elements in the audience, then yes."

"Congratulations then Wendy."

Wendy squealed and started clapping her hands, "this is so exciting! I mean, it'll suck because I won't be able to see you as often, but now I'll get to learn more history about our Elements! I might even learn why we have this barrier between us and learn how to break it! Can you believe it Doranbolt?! One day we might actually get to touch!" She cheered.

Doranbolt blinked again, raising an eyebrow. "A little eager, aren't you?"

Wendy opened her mouth, but quickly closed it and blushed. She looked away, her eyes slightly lowering.

"Well, haven't you want to touch me as well?" She pouted.

It was Doranbolt's turn to open his mouth, before closing it all the same. His heart started racing, it wasn't because of her though. It was because he saw something else behind Wendy, falling down fast. He wanted to run or teleport away, hide even since she was the only one who was supposed to know. Something made him stay though, and soon he was face to face with the previous Queen of the Sky Elements, Porlyusica Marvell.

Wendy felt the presence, smelt the scent, and saw the shadow. She didn't want to believe it, but as she turned around she saw her mother glaring down at her in disappointment. She went from her, to Doranbolt, then back to her. Wendy slowly moved over to be sitting in front of Doranbolt, trying to shield him from her.

"Mother I can explain."

"You have betrayed your Element."

That seemed to do it for Wendy as she flinched and stared down, gulping heavily.

"She hasn't betrayed your Element at all!" Doranbolt said moving out of the way.

"Was I talking to you Lightning Element?" She glared fiercely at him.

Doranbolt floated back a little. Porlyusica knew something was up with her daughter for a while now, ever since she first mentioned the other elements. She had a feeling it was going to be something like this, she knew it inside of her, yet she didn't do anything though because she believed in her daughter. She let it happened because she believed her daughter would realize the mistake she was making. The previous queen, for the first time since her own crowning, was played as a fool.

"How could you do this Wendy?" She asked coldly.

Wendy clenched her fists around her dress, wrinkling it up as she tried to explain.

"It was on acci-acci-accident." She stuttered.

"Accident?!"

"I didn't mean to-"

"Mean to?!"

"Nothing happened!"

"What does nothing happened even mean?!"

"Enough Grandma! It was all my fault! I tempted her!" Doranbolt yelled having enough.

She was bullying her own daughter, making her cry and regret every decision she's ever made about him. She was making Wendy hate herself and him, and that wasn't fair at all! Wendy's eyes widened as she turned around and stared at Doranbolt, Porlyusica doing the same.

"Excuse me?"

"I used my demonic powers to hypnotize her into telling me all her secrets because I am the great Demon King!" Doranbolt said, summoning and crackling lightning around him so he could look more threatening.

"Do you take me for an idiot boy? There are no such things as demons."

Doranbolt's mouth dropped wide open, same as Wendy. What the-? Isn't that what the Sky Elements were taught? To stay close to home or else demons will come and get you? Doranbolt was so confused, what was happening right now?

"Why are you trying protecting my daughter though idiot? Speak."

"Daughter?" Doranbolt questioned. So yeah, Wendy was calling her mother, but she looked so, and no offense to her, old though.

"IT WAS ON ACCIDENT!" Wendy screamed standing up.

"MONTHS AGO I LOST ALL MY MAGIC AND FELL TO MY DEATH, ONLY I DIDN'T FALL TO MY DEATH BUT LAND HERE! I MET DORANBOLT AND HE WAS THE FIRST LIGHTNING ELEMENT A SKY ELEMENT HAS MADE CONTACT IN 1000 YEARS SO OF COURSE I'D WANT TO TALK TO HIM! WE'VE BEEN MEETING FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS AND I TOLD HIM ALL OF MY SECRETS AND HE'S TOLD ME ALL OF HIS! HE'S MY, MY, MY BEST FRIEND!"

Porlyusica blinked, Doranbolt tried to hide his chuckling, and Wendy started breathing erratically.

"I didn't betray our Element Mother, the Lightning Elements are nice people. Doranbolt is nice, I like him Mother. He would never do anything to hurt me." Wendy explained.

Porlyusica's eyes softened just a little.

"Boy, how do you feel about my daughter?"

Doranbolt straightened up, meeting the previous queen and mother of Wendy. Since he's secretly been meeting her daughter he should introduce himself right? Prove to her that he wasn't a demon, but actually an Element with manners.

"The name's Doranbolt Gryder, nice to meet you, and I like her as well. She's become a close friend to me as well and I'd... I'd never cause any harm to her." Doranbolt confessed.

Porlyusica sighed and nodded her head, "Fine. You both are forgiven." She said.

Wendy's eyes started sparkling while Doranbolt smiled lightly.

"Really Mother? Does that mean I'm not banned from seeing Doranbolt?"

"No what it means is that you two are going to be married."

Wendy froze, Doranbolt blinked. The two of the were frozen for a second or two, replaying the words until it clicked in their minds.

"Huh?!"

"You both just confessed your feelings and since you both learned all about each others secrets, the only way to avoid war is to unite our Elements and I can't see a better way to do that other than marriage. Wendy is queen now, she's of marriageable age, and looking at you I assume you have already been crowned?"

"Ah." Doranbolt said.

"Mom! It's not like that! I don't, we don't! There's a barrier separating us!" She yelled, and if to make her point, started stomping on it.

"This stupid thing? I'll conjure up a spell to rid of it, though it'll take a while to do so, which is perfect since you still need your training to becoming a perfect queen and now wife. I'm sure, what was your name again son?"

"Doranbolt Gryder." Doranbolt managed to choke out.

"King Gryder has preparations to make as well, informing his kingdom of our existence, our alliance, things like that. Come along Wendy, we have a party to get back to. I wish it was a pleasure to meet you King Gryder, but it wasn't. I hope you'll be able to redeem yourself the next time we meet."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Doranbolt yelled out.

"I can't marry your daughter!"

Porlyusica blinked and looked down, "excuse me? After leading her on for so long, you are denying her marriage? Is that how your previous father raised you as King?"

"And enough with the king! I'm not a king! I'm a relative of the king!"

"Yeah! That's right, Doranbolt's just a friend!" Wendy said.

"Just a friend? Relative? Then who is your king boy?"

Doranbolt's eyebrow twitched, back to boy huh? "Laxus Dreyar, he's been king since his late grandfather died twelve years ago."

"Twelve huh? Then Wendy shall be betrothed to him instead of you."

...

...

"WHAT?!" The two Elements screamed.

"There's no doubt in my mind that you have been relying the information about our Elements to your king and relative, this is the only way to ensure our safety Wendy. Doranbolt Gryder, as previous queen of the Sky Elements I order you to relay this information to your king at once and bring him back tomorrow to meet his future bride."

Wendy stared at Doranbolt and Doranbolt stared right back, the both of them not knowing what was happening. Wendy knew what was right for her people and after promising them peace, she knew what she was going to have to do. Though Doranbolt didn't know the background of things, he knew Wendy would listen to her mother. The two felt something, but didn't speak it as the wind continued to blow on.


	9. Lightning King Doranbolt

**BlackLynx17: So everyone I put a bit of a timeskip in this chapter by a few months. I could have drag it all out, I don't think it would have done this story any justice though since I explained the main parts of everything. You didn't miss anything, trust me, just Wendy and Doranbolt flirting around for a while.**

**Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 8

Lightning King Doranbolt

* * *

"Are you being serious?" Laxus asked.

"Yes. These were Queen Porlyusica's demands, straight from her mouth." Doranbolt told him.

He wouldn't accept it though, right? Of course not, this was Laxus. He wasn't interested in women yet, he wouldn't have been interested in a child like Wendy either! There was no way he was going to let this happen. Most likely he'll laugh it off and tell him, good joke.

"Alright. I'll tell this to the elders and get things arranged." Laxus said.

"WHAT?!" Doranbolt yelled, his voice echoing through the room.

Laxus looked lazily at him, "well what did you expect Doranbolt? Because of you they know all about us, and what's worse they know how to break whatever barrier it is keeping us apart. If we don't agree on their terms they could wage war on us and have the complete upper hand."

"But! But! She's Wendy! She just turned queen, 16 year old girl as flat as a board with a hell of an attitude, nothing near like a queen, and it's, it's, I can't believe you're agreeing to this! Can't you just settle on something? A document? Peace? Leaving the barrier as it is?"

"I can't do that Doranbolt because we know nothing about the barrier! Even if we do have peace now, they can interrupt it whenever they want and we'll be powerless to defend ourselves! I'm thinking of my people right now, and thanks to you for finding the stupid Sky Element in the first place, that's uniting our Elements as one. At least then we'll be able to live in harmony together."

"You can't marry her!"

"Well why can't I?!"

"Because you don't love her!"

"And you do?!"

Doranbolt froze. Laxus took a deep breath and sighed out through his nose, running his hands through his hair as he leaned back in his throne.

"End of discussion Doranbolt. Tomorrow you shall lead me to the barrier where I'll meet my future bride and then it'll be off with you."

He didn't love her, he couldn't have loved her. She was just a child, a crybaby, so rude and immature. The memories of her appeared in his mind though, her voice, her smile, her laughter, her hair, her eyes, the eyes that would stare with such fascination and awe. That wouldn't be his anymore though, she wouldn't be visiting him anymore, but Laxus instead. Laxus was going to take his spot, take his memories, and take his...

"I, Doranbolt Gryder, son to Madison and Lewis Gryder, descendant of Raikon Dreyar, brother to Mavis Dreyar, hereby challenge Laxus Dryer, son to Ivan and Sara Dreyar, descendant of Mavis Dreyar, for the throne." Doranbolt told him without really thinking.

Laxus's eyes widened lightly, "do you realize what you're saying?"

"I do, and I don't want to Laxus. I can't let you have her though."

"You didn't answer if you loved her or not."

"Regardless of the answer, I cannot let you have her."

"The competition isn't for another two months Doranbolt-"

"It is written though that children of royal blood can challenge for the throne if they deem the current king or queen unfit. I deem you unfit to marry Wendy Marvell. Laxus, I'm sorry I have to do this. I never wanted it to come to this, but, but... I know I'll regret it if I don't try and stop you."

Laxus stood up from his throne and passed Doranbolt, without so much as a sideways glance. He stopped at the door though and exhaled through his nose.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"I'm sorry Laxus."

"I'm going to talk to the elders about this, know if your statement is proven wrong I'll have to sentence you to death. I'll ask you one more time, is she worth dying for?"

_"I don't how to explain it Doranbolt, I just feel so at ease with you."_

_He chuckled at her, "I'm glad, though I remember when we first met you thought I was a demon. Thankfully you still don't feel that way."_

_She laughed as well, "I'm being serious, it's weird. Even though I'm a princess... I'm actually really shy around people. Not really shy, but just... awkward. With you though, I don't feel so awkward. I feel like I'm talking to Charlie or my mom."_

_He whistled long and loud, "I feel bad for the man who tries to win your heart Wendy. Some words of advice, don't yell demon at him. Boys don't like that."_

_She blushed so bright, it amused him. "SHUT UP DORANBOLT!"_

That was probably the first time he really thought she was cute and meant it, didn't try to deny the fact that he thought of her that way. If Laxus was king, he was going to marry her, meet Wendy, see her, befriend her, and that was something Doranbolt wanted to keep to himself.

"My decision is final, King Dreyar."

Doranbolt heard the door slam and groaned loudly to himself. There was no way he was in love with the girl, no way was he going to marry her. Once he became king though, he could negotiate keeping the barrier up. It wouldn't matter if they couldn't touch each other, it wouldn't matter if they could barely visit each other because of their duties or not at all, as long as she wouldn't belong to Laxus.

...

If their kingdoms continued to be apart though, she'd find another. She was queen and queen's needed to have heirs meaning she'd marry someone else, a man that was a Sky Element most likely...

Doranbolt didn't think about that. Instead, he focused on how he was going to beat the fastest Lightning Element in their kingdom.

His answer, with ease.

* * *

"Mother?"

"Come in Wendy."

Wendy gulped as she walked into the room, spotting her mother sitting behind her desk. She looked up from her paperwork, taking off her glasses as she stared at her only daughter. It's been a long day and any negative feelings she felt towards her daughter was gone by now. She motioned for Wendy to sit down and that is what she did, staring at her hands.

"You understanding what is happening, don't you?"

"Because I found the Lightning Element and revealed our secrets now our Element is in danger. In order to prevent any wars from happening I must marry the king of the Lightning Elements and unite our kingdoms. Though we don't know if the Lightning Elements can even break the barrier, you don't want to risk our people's lives and neither do I. I understand my duty as queen now and am grateful that I have already helped my kingdom immensely." Wendy said, already having a long day to think things through.

"Now you're acting like a queen, as a daughter though Wendy... I'm sorry. I know you were fond of the other one."

Wendy blushed and shook her head, "no, no, no! We weren't in love or anything like that! I didn't love him or anything, we were just really close friends! I mean, he was my best friend like Charlie and! And!" She started stuttering.

"If he really loves and cares for you Wendy, you'll see. He'll become king for you to be together, he wouldn't let anything keep you apart."

"WE'RE NOT IN LOVE!"

"Yes daughter, yes, yes. Are you nervous about meeting King Dreyar tomorrow?"

"Not really, though Doranbolt described him as a demon I think he was just kidding."

"I wish the best for you and him, listen though. When I first met your father, I wasn't in love with him."

Wendy blinked as she looked up, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Love didn't come for a long time dear, actually... it never did come. Yes I loved him, I wasn't in love with him though. My father had wanted us together, said he would be a good husband and father and that he was. Your father was a wonderful man, Sky Cloud rest his soul, and loved us both Wendy. We were the best of friends, as lovers though... you can love someone Wendy without loving them. I hope this can put your mind as ease, though I hope he's a man who treats you right. If he isn't, don't worry. I have ways to make death look like an accident." Porlyusica grinned.

Wendy giggled, looking at her Mother.

"Go to bed now dear, we have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes mother, night."

Wendy walked into her room, lying right next to Charlie.

"Do I even want to know?"

"I'm engaged."

"..."

"..."

Charlie sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it isn't your fault. It's my own for not listening... can we talk about this tomorrow please?"

"Of course Wendy, of course."

* * *

Wendy stood next to her mother, her knees shaking together. She tried to look strong, proud, and elegant, queen like as she wore her crown tall; it was hard to do so though meeting her future husband. Her gulp felt like swallowing clouds, getting stuck in her throat for a little bit. Her mother was sitting, rather than standing, resting her old legs.

"He's late."

That was a first.

"He'll be here soon, in fact I think I see him right now." Wendy said narrowing her eyes.

She didn't have to because Doranbolt appeared in a flash, standing under the two of them. Wendy's eyes widened, she smiled brightly though and waved while Porlyusica frowned.

"I don't see your king boy."

"That's because you are looking at him."

Wendy gasped, realizing the crown on his head. She didn't see the look her mother gave her of 'I told you so', but completely focused on him.

"Very well then, since you two are already antiquated I guess there's no need for this meeting. I'll be off then to prepare for the wedding. I haven't found the spell yet to break this barrier, I image it'll take around two or three months though. Make sure to ha-"

"With all due respect Queen Marvell, I need to ask Queen Wendy something." Doranbolt said staring at her.

Wendy gulped and blinked, nodding her head.

"Do you even want to marry me Wendy?"

She gulped and blinked again, not knowing the answer in her heart. This was Doranbolt, Doranbolt, but this was also Doranbolt...

"I suggest we change negotiations, keep the barrier in place and forget we ever existed." Doranbolt said.

"But Doranbolt-" Wendy was interrupted.

"You cannot guarantee that war will not happen, that you will not invade our kingdom."

"We Lightning Elements have no idea how to break this barrier, we didn't even know this barrier existed until I found it. You have nothing to fear."

"You could be lying."

"I'm not though, on my honor of my new crown."

"You stupid, little boy-"

"Doranbolt... do you wish to marry me?" Wendy whispered.

He was silent, just like she was.

"We accept your conditions then." Wendy said coldly.

"Wendy-"

"I'm queen Mother and I can decide things on my own now. We'll respect your wishes, I guess this is goodbye then." Wendy said.

Wendy flew off towards the sky and Porlyusica sighed while Doranbolt looked away.

"You are truly an idiot king. What was the point of gaining the throne if you weren't going to marry my daughter?" Porlyusica asked.

"So no one else would."

"She's still going to get married to another, now a Sky Element. You just delayed the inevitable, only now you can't prevent it again."

Porlyusica flew off after her daughter, leaving Doranbolt alone to his thoughts. He knew this was the truth, knew being king and betraying his cousin shouldn't have meant as much as protecting Wendy, he knew... but he didn't understand the purpose of it all anymore. Only this, that he was a king in a kingdom that adored his cousin and that he had just lost his best friend.

* * *

Doranbolt didn't understand how Laxus could sit in this chair all day. It was cold, uncomfortable, pretty sure it wasn't made of clouds because of how sturdy it was, and overall just a pain to get relaxed in. He didn't understand why he sat in this chair every day, alone in the darkness, instead of going out and exploring their kingdom. Doranbolt could understand his own reason, because he was depressed, best friendless, and now cousin/king/other best friendless, but he couldn't think of a reason for Laxus.

It's only been a week since he rose into power as king, a lot of Lightning Elements not very happy with it. None of them were happy with it actually, no one had expected Laxus to lose. He would have always lost against Doranbolt though because he was the fastest, his family was always the fastest. Since back to Mavis, she was never able to beat her brother. His great grandfather had seen how much it meant to her to be leader though and let her win, the same with the other generations including Doranbolt. His father had explained the story when he came of age to participate in the races; he was super mad at him right now though, the same with his mother for doing such a thing. What was the point? They asked.

He couldn't explain, no one knew about the Sky Element's but Laxus and he and Doranbolt planned to keep it that way. He hadn't gone back to visit Wendy, he was sure she wouldn't be there anyway. It was too hard, his past was too hard. Being king was too hard, though he hadn't done a single thing for his kingdom. He had to remain king though or risk Laxus marrying Wendy if he came back to throne, which wasn't going to happen while he was around.

King. Ki-ng. Kee-nn-gah. Doranbolt grunted then stood up in his seat, looking around. The room was blank, he felt bored, he couldn't talk to his friends like he used too, couldn't see his parents until they got over things, definitely couldn't visit Laxus unless he wanted a fight, so all that left was the Thunder Cloud. Doranbolt didn't really believe in the Thunder Cloud, didn't really think of it as his savior and worshiped it like every else did. It was probably the only thing that wouldn't judge him right now and that's what Doranbolt needed. He quickly teleported off into the direction of the cloud, leaving a lightning trial behind him. When he arrived, he wasn't alone.

Laxus stood ahead, sitting crossed legged on the floor praying in front of their savior. He turned upon hearing Doranbolt arrived and the two of them had a stare down.

"You always went easy... didn't you?" Laxus asked looking back around.

Doranbolt cleared his voice, "yeah, yeah... I did."

"Why?"

"The Dreyars have always wanted to be kings more than the Gryders, which is why we've been giving them the crown. We didn't really care, as long as we lived in peace... that is... until I came around. Laxus, I'm-"

"Don't. You have no idea the feelings I'm feeling right now Doranbolt, I should strike you down right here and right now because you could care less about our home and our people. You're doing this selfishly for your stupid girl toy when in the end you lost her. I could kill you here and I'd be consider a hero, I could reveal all about the Sky Elements and the elders could force you into a war with them, I could do a lot of things that could ruin everything you've done and bring me back on top."

Doranbolt looked down, his heart racing while his hands clenched into fists.

"But I won't, because you are my brother Doranbolt. You've always been there for me, supporting me, helping me, only because you love me. This is not something we can easily get over though, at all actually. Sadly you'll be ruling my kingdom alone until I have the strength to take it back."

"I love you Laxus, you were like a brother to me, so believe me when I say that as long as you wish to unite our kingdom with the Sky's I will never let you have the crown back."

"Don't you mean as long as I desire to marry Wendy?"

Doranbolt started walking over to him, passing by as he sat in front of the Thunder Cloud. He reached out to touch it, feeling shocked for a little bit before the lightning calmed down. Laxus chuckled while Doranbolt looked over his shoulder.

"It has accepted you, though you never truly believed in our savior. He has forgiven you."

"What are you talking about? This thing is just a thunder cloud-! Ow!" Doranbolt said getting shocked.

"Our savior is anything but a thunder cloud Doranbolt... oh and by the way? This is the place you've been searching for."

Doranbolt looked completely back to ask what he was talking about, Laxus grabbed him by his throat though and threw him towards the Thunder Cloud. He fell through and continued flying down until he landed on something solid.

"What the hell?!" Doranbolt yelled.

It was completely dark in the room, but once Doranbolt made electricity he saw it was a rather old, rather dusty looking library. He blinked and gazed around the room, seeing dirty and beaten up books, scrolls, papers scattered all across the floor. This was the history room, only the kings were allowed to read. A sadness overwhelmed him as he looked around at the one place he's been begging to see for months now. Doranbolt didn't need to be in here anymore, he wasn't trying to find a way to touch her anymore...

Being in here was definitely better than being in that lonely throne room though.


	10. Best Friends

**BlackLynx17: Quick update because it's a short chapter, check out my new story Tears Second Love, yeah, thanks for reviewing!**

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_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

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Chapter 10

Best Friends

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"Wendy, you've been here for hours." Charlie whined pacing around.

"You know, with being a queen and all I thought that I wouldn't have anytime to myself, but as it turns out I do." Wendy said turning the page to her book, "and now that I can't see Doranbolt anymore... I forget what I used to do before him."

"Have a life, play with kids your age, go on adventures." Charlie listed.

"I'm a queen now though Charlie, people are going to treat me different. It's weird having a queen in a kingdom with no wars and complete peace though, isn't it? The only problems I get is when our clouds get too soggy from the rainstorms. I can't fix the weather, I'm not a cloud water genius. All I can do about that is what every else does, pray to our Sky Cloud." Wendy said patting the floor where she sat.

"Being queen is an image Wendy, no matter what you are the same person underneath. Instead of locking yourself inside this... dusty book room, why don't you go and meet your people?"

Wendy sighed out loud and stared up at the pink fluffy clouds around her. She didn't want to be around people, something they would say or do or a simple smile they would make would always... always bring her mind back to him.

"Charlie... I know its been a month... I'm still hurting though."

"I don't know why, all you two ever were was friends. He was the one who ditched you so you shouldn't be even sparing a single thought on him!"

Wendy sighed again and closed her book, placing it lightly beside her. She stood up, dusted herself off, and offered Charlie her hands.

"Charlie, it's not that simple. I'm not even sure I understand it myself, but... it feels like there's a thunderstorm in my heart though." She whispered, closing her eyes.

Charlie hoped into her arms and stared at her best friend.

"I don't want to meet new people, I'm a little lost at the moment which is why I'm here. Do you see our history? It explains everything, where we came from, why we moved into the skies, how we did it, except in even more details. These are hundreds of people's diaries, thoughts, stories about what it took to get here. 1000 years of history is here, the Lightning Elements weren't actually demons you know. They were humans, like us, we lived in the same village. It doesn't say why they aren't apart of us now, but it's just... it's a real shame that no one can ever know all of this. Such a waste."

"Wendy..."

Charlie bit her lip and shook her head lightly, "come on. I'm started to get hungry."

The passion in Wendy's eyes faded as she slowly nodded her head. Sprouting wings, she flew up and through the clouds, threw her savior Sky Cloud and landed softly on top of it. She giggled and patted Sky Cloud before sliding off of it.

"Thank you." She bowed lowly before walking off.

"Wendy if you want to meet this complete loser, you just should." Charlie pouted.

"I do, that would violate our agreement though."

"Would it? I thought it was just an agreement not to invade each other? Neither of you said you still couldn't be friends." Charlie said.

Wendy paused at this, frowning lightly.

"Though I hated when you visited that dem-... Lightning Element, he made you happy Wendy. Really happy."

Charlie sprouted wings and started floating ahead of Wendy, tugging some stands of her hair.

"Come on. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I'm actually allowing you to rebel." She said.

"What if he's not there though?"

"What if he is? And has been since the two of you left? What if he's been waiting every single day for you to come visit?"

Wendy's wings appeared, though she didn't make them.

"I'll be with you Wendy, come on. He could be there right now, wondering why you're late. You two usually meet around this time, right?"

Wendy looked up at the setting sun in the sky and remembered some memories, of her laughing with him, him laughing at her, his smile, his stories, his eyes. She blinked slowly and started flying up.

"There we go, come on Wendy."

Wendy nodded her head and started flying towards the barrier without any hesitation. Charlie found it a little hard to keep up, losing Wendy for a second in the clouds. All she had to do was fly down though, and when she finally spotted Wendy... she spotted her alone.

"Wendy?" Charlie asked landing on the barrier beside her.

"He's not here, of course he wouldn't be." Wendy whispered.

"Maybe he just lef-"

"It's alright Charlie! Really, thanks to you I know exactly what I should do now." Wendy said lifting her head up high.

"Wendy?" She repeated.

"Thanks Charlie, so much! I'll have to treat you for helping me." Wendy giggled sprouting her wings again.

Her smile and laughter was back, it didn't even look fake either. Charlie blinked and titled her head, nodding slowly.

"You don't have to."

"But I want to, as queen you're forced to accept my gift."

This had her giggling, "yes your majesty."

Wendy's smile fell for a second before coming back, "let's go home."

She wanted to see him. She was never going to again, but she wanted to see him. So she was going too. Did she want to marry him? No, she didn't. Though they've been meeting and talking for months, they still barely knew anything about each other. Wendy didn't know what his favorite color was or his parents name, and she was sure Doranbolt didn't know her favorite color either. It was stupid excuses, the most stupidest ones she could think of, but wanting to see him again was a step.

The only way that would happen though is if they broke the barrier. Although Wendy had ordered the barrier to stay, her Mother had already started working on the spell to break it just in case something ever happened. Wendy wouldn't be able to break it and just see him though, her kingdom might be destroyed, both their kingdoms if she did that. The Sky Elements feared the Lightning Elements because they didn't know anything, but if Wendy showed them then...

Maybe, maybe, they could live in peace with each other and continue being best friends.


	11. Leaving Home

**BlackLynx17: FINALLY WE ARE AT OUR FAVORITE COUPLE! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MAY I PRESENT...**

* * *

_**Elements ****Of ****The ****Heart**_

* * *

Chapter 11

Leaving Home

* * *

Now there was one Element that knew all, knew about every other Element and was told the truth about their world; that there wasn't a war, but a feud against Elements that caused them to separate. Those were the Fire Elements. Though they knew this knowledge, they were powerless to bring the Elements back together. Why would they want to in the first place though? After so many years they forgot about the other Elements so what did they matter? Fire Elements were the most daredevil Element there was out of all the Elements, the most free they liked to believe since they've forgotten about the Sky Element's existence. Division 3, Section Fire and Light. They were the last key to destroying the world, it was the next Division in the order though.

Their savior was a great flame that never flickered out no matter what weather, though the weather was always sunny. It was a warm place, the Fire Elements home, the ground paved with magma and lava rocks, volcanoes in every direction you looked, flames of different shapes and colors all around their Division with the most delicious flavors to them. They were the only Element who took colors from the other Elements before the separation, keeping some of their traditions and cultures as well. Like all Elements though, all they could eat was their own Element fire. It was said that the greatest tasting fire was that of their savior, the great Inferno. No one was allowed to eat it since it was their savior though, but that hardly stopped a young prince from sneaking over every chance he had to taste a bite.

"HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU! STUBBORN BRAT! STAY AWAY FROM THE GREAT INFERNO!"

Natsu yelled loudly as he was tossed into the sky and down the volcano, rolling around like crazy as his father threw him off and let him fall to his doom. This didn't faze him, he did this two, sometimes three times a day, and he quickly got used to the feeling of rolling over rocks and lava before landing (usually) face first at the bottom. Natsu couldn't help it though, he loved eating. Those flames were just so delicious, having them a few times before, and he just needed to have more.

"THANKS A LOT OLD MAN!" Natsu yelled when he stopped reached the bottom.

He leaned up and scratched the back of his head, wiggling his arms around. Standing up, he dusted himself off and started walking away to figure out his next plan to get to his savior. Thinking about it already, Natsu started drooling.

"Oh boy, I can't wait till I get my hands on him again."

His father was going to be more on guard now, he was always like that when Natsu finally got his prize, so maybe he should lay low for a while and probably not return home either. If he did a warning, a lecture, and a beating was sure to welcome him home. It wasn't uncommon that Natsu slept outside because he owned everything, he was the prince of these lands.

"OOOOOOH! I ate the flames of the savior today and they were OH OH OH SO GOOD! I'll eat the flames of the savior again and it'll be OH OH OOOOOH! SO !" Natsu sang as he made his way to his secret hideaway cave.

Unknown to him, he wasn't alone like he thought he was. As he jumped over rocks and across fires, he continued singing to himself as he walked towards his home for tonight. His secret hideaway was a small cave not so far away from his town, inside was a pillow and an endless sort of flames burning out of the ground. Nothing compared to their saviors flames though.

"OH! OH! OOOOH! Tomorrow I shall eat the flames again, and they will be SO, OH SO, SO SOOOO GOOD!" Natsu finished.

_"Oooh! Oh! Oooh!"_

Natsu blinked, looking around.

_"Oh I ate the flames of the savior today and they were oh oh oh so good."_

That... who was singing that?

_"I'll eat the flames of the savior again, and it'll be oh oh oooh so good."_

"Who's there?!" Natsu yelled out looking around.

There was no one there though, no one around, no one spying or looking at him. So it must have all been in his head then, right? Natsu shrugged as he started walking away again, completely forgetting about the voice. It must have been his imagination, Natsu had no idea his imagination sounded like a girl though.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia walked with her bare feet across the light, humming a delightful melody to herself. She greeted the people around her with smiles, never really speaking since she was humming. This was her home, her country of Light. The Light Elements. Of course since the Element was light, everything in her hometown was made out of light. To the normal eye everything would seem bright, but to Lucy's eyes everything was as clear as well, light. Their homes and houses, neighbors and cities weren't bright lights, but (what could only be describe to in the simplest terms) were light crystals. Transparent, hollow, barely visible except for the outline. Everything shined a bright white color, from the buildings to the trees to the outfits they wore.

There was no such thing as rainbow colors here, though everyone knew of the ancient names of the colors. The only ones existing in this section though was white, light, bright yellow, and a strange, dark color they did not realize was called blue. Everyone here carried the blonde hair gene with bright yellow and rarely blue eyes to match directly.

The only ones who had a different eye color, a color they've abandoned the name brown and replaced it with the name Royal Inherit, was royalty. It was decided long ago that the Royal Inherit (brown) colored eyes was royalty from the great Light Pillar, this section's savior. Lucy has read these things millions of times in books, so she couldn't help thinking about these things as she walked through her lands.

She wondered what it would look like to see color as she hummed. Green, purple, red, orange, aquamarine. The names sounded cool, pretty, but all Lucy could imagine in her head was light. Beautiful, bright light. No matter what the other colors, light would always be the best one. Hands down.

"Yo! Princess Lucy! Been a while since you've visited your loyal subjects."

Lucy turned her nose up and glared, "Sting. Why do you always tease me so?"

Sting shrugged, "just because."

"That's hardly a reason," Lucy huffed taking a break from her walk.

She sat down where she was standing and was immediately supported by light. "And what do you mean its been a while? I always visit my people every single day, your just not there to notice me."

"Aw, Lucy wants me to notice her. Well I'm noticing you now and let me just tell you, you look real nice in that gown. Is it new?"

Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes, completely used to Sting's flirtation. After all they were childhood friends, growing up and being raised together. Royalty meant nothing in this Element, only fancy words. Here everyone was free and equal, no woman better than any other man. Knowledge and material possessions were shared with one another, a peaceful environment all around each and every Element. In the Light, there were no shadows or darkness. With only the light shining over you, it was so easy not to succumb to any of those. Everything became crystal clear and honest in the light.

"This old thing? I only ever wear it every single day. Honestly Sting, why do you toy with me so?"

"Because it's my job to keep you on your toes." Sting said with a grin.

Lucy stared at him and shook her head, "do you know you have to be the first Light Element in history to be able to lie in a thousand years?"

"I know right? And I'd be such a very good liar if it wasn't for the shadow that always followed me." Sting said looking behind him.

While nothing but light appeared behind Lucy, Sting had a dark shadow casting behind him that followed his every move.

"Shadows only appear to liars, start telling the truth and it'll disappear."

"But if I tell the truth then everyone will know the real me, and I'm saving that for just y-o-u." Sting winked.

"The more you lie, the darker the shadow becomes. Legend has it when a shadow has become truly dark, it swallows you up and spits you back out in the Shadow Element where you never see the light of day again."

"And that's exactly what it is, a legend."

Lucy giggled and Sting grinned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay Sting, how would you like to join me on the rest of my tour around the city?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Sting said.

Lucy stood up and continued her walk with added company. It was nice not to walk alone, though she knew Light Pillar was always by her side.

"So I heard you singing you know, what song was that? I couldn't recognize the tune." Sting asked.

"I don't know, I was walking when I heard someone sing it and started singing it myself. I can't remember the words though no matter how much I try, just the tune." Lucy said and started singing.

"Creepy, maybe tomorrow they'll sing again."

Lucy shrugged, "maybe."

"So putting the polite conversations aside, how has the Princess life been going? I hear your father has been pressuring you to find a groom."

"For no reason at all. There are no wars in Light Country, if it wasn't for Mom I believe he would have married me off when I was younger."

"Aw Lucy, he's your father! I think he just wants to know you're taken care of."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." Lucy pouted.

"I'm sure he'll see it your way, sooner or later. You always win the arguments between every and anybody. Princess."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "stop Sting. You know how I feel about that word."

"What, Princess?"

"Yes, it's nothing but a title. I'm no better than anyone else who lives outside the castle and for me to get married just because of that title is ridiculous! I wish Dad could see that, matter of fact I'm going to tell him that upon returning home. We are all equal Daddy, I am no better than anyone else so why should I have to marry so young when others don't? Dad, aren't we all the same? Titles don't mean a thing, so neither should marria- No, no, hmm. Dad-"

Sting sighed and rolled his eyes, mad that he got her started. Now Lucy wouldn't stop practicing reciting until she got the words to her little speech just right. Maybe he could slip out, yeah. She obviously wasn't paying attention. Sting stopped walking and waited until Lucy was out of sight before walking away with a kick in his step. He loved Lucy, she was very important to him, but when she got into her ranting zone Sting wasn't nothing more to do than to run in the opposite direction of her.

Lucy didn't notice Sting was gone until she screamed out in success! Finally finding her perfect lecture! She turned to tell Sting, noticed him missing, and glared long and hard at the spot where he should have been.

"Sting, the next time I see you I'm going to-" Lucy let the sentence die out. She had more urging things to deal with, like her speech with her Dad Lucy nodded and started to head home, reciting it over and over again to the tune she heard while walking.

* * *

"Dad, titles like King, Queen, Prince and Princess are exactly that, titles. If you strip all the titles away then what you are left with is who we all are, Light Elements. Marrying me off to somebody is completely insane because even if I'm your daughter first, I'm a Light Element second and Light Elements don't do that. If I am to marry, I want it to be for love like you and Mom did. So I hope you'll reconsider this marriage thing, if not forever then at least until a later time. I am only 16 after all, there is no rush." Lucy pleaded her case.

Her mom was shining bright, nodding her head and smiling. "She makes a good point dear."

Her dad on the other hand had quite the scowl, "she makes a point alright, whether it's good or not is in the eye of the beholder. Lucy, I know how much this bothers you, so I'm willing to extend your time. You have this obsession with love, you have this belief that we're all equal, fine then. For the next year, until this date exactly, I'll postpone your marriage in order for you to go out and find 'love'." King Heartfilia said.

Lucy's eyes sparkling, bright lights laminating around her. "Really Daddy?!"

"Thank you dear." Queen Heartfilia smiled resting her hand over hers.

"From this day forward you are stripped from your title as Princess of the Light and are here by sentence to live out the year down in the cities with the rest of the citizens since you believe we are all equal. There you shall receive no help from us and will have to live and work on your own, trying to find the love you wish to marry. At the end of the year if you aren't able to find someone to marry, you shall return home and I will hear no more of this ridiculous complaints."

Lucy blinked while Queen Heartfilia gasped, taking her hand away from her husband.

"Dear! That's too drastic! We shall do no such thing to our daughter!"

"I accept Daddy, and thank you for this opportunity." Lucy smiled.

"Lucy! Are you listening to yourself?! I am not having you move out of this house, do you hear me?! Now I am Queen and the two of you are going to come to some sort of an agreement that WE ALL are happy about."

"Mom, this is what I want though. A chance to live with the people, I wouldn't mind. Dad is just giving me freedom and it's a fair offer. I want to go out and look for love, he's been generous enough to give me a year. If I can't find it then it's alright, I wouldn't mind coming back and seeing things his way. It's not like you can never visit? Or I can never visit? Thanks Dad, I'll get my things and depart at once." Lucy said.

"LUCY! YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS!"

"Let her go Layla, it is our way. I love you Lucy and I hope you find what you are looking for." Kozen said.

Lucy walked up to her dad and hugged him tight, "thank you."

"Lucy, Dear, that's it! Fine! I'm going with you!" Layla said standing up from her throne.

"Layla-"

"Now don't you Layla me! I am not leaving my daughters side, no! She's too young, too fragile, too beautiful. Aw Lucy, don't leave." Layla cried out.

"Mom, give me a chance. Let me try this and in a week when I'm all settled in my new home, I'll come for you to visit and stay. But please though, let me start this journey on my own."

Layla whimpered and wiped her tears, nodding her head. "We'll make an announcement today about your departure, all Elements will know of your journey and shall help you along the way."

"No Mom, if you do that then suitors will come from every corner of the light for me. I need to do this on my own, if you are to make an announcement say the king had decided to let his princess travel around to the farthest places of the light to visit and hear the needs of the people for those who cannot visit him."

"Our daughter is smart, that way she'll be welcomed and cared for." Kozen said.

"Lucy, if you get tired or lost come straight home. Please don't do this." Layla cried.

"Mom, this is going to make me happy. Please let me go, I couldn't bare to leave you in tears."

Layla took a breath and closed her eyes shut, turning away.

"If you must then, I permit it. Go Lucy, and hurry before I change my mind."

Lucy giggled and gave her mother a kiss before she ran down the halls into her room, gathering up the things she would need for her journey. Kozen and Layla sat alone in their throne room, one in tears while the other deep in thought.

"This is all your fault." Layla cried.

"If I remember correctly, you were able to find me the same way. By journeying out in our Element and exploring around."

"I had a home and family to return to, Lucy will have no one."

"Not no one, Sting. I'll arrange for him to watch over and make sure she finds a place near him if anything happens. He'll report back to us."

This seemed to calm Layla's nerves, she still disliked her husband though.

"She's only 16, does she really need to find a marriage partner?"

"I love Lucy dear, I want to know she's taken care of. Yes 16 is young, but if I am to chose someone who she doesn't know I want to give her time to grow to love him. A lifetime is just that, a very long time."

Layla sighed and nodded her head, hearing her husband wise words. She still didn't like them though.

"I still don't like this."

Kozen didn't know what else to do but to keep quiet and let his wife rant.


	12. Crystal Color

**BlackLynx17: Alright so my laptop went to the shop and the whole time I was doing nothing. No-thing. I'm back though and I have a lot to catch up though, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. How many of you are excited that we're on Nalu finally? Huh? Huh?! I think I outdid myself with their story, I hope you'll enjoy reading.**

**P.S.! The reason I called Lucy's Father Kozen last chapter, my bad, is because that's the name of the corporation he runs. It's called Kozen Corp. or something, and I don't know why but I just thought that was his name. It's Jude, I forget, sorry.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 12

Crystal Colors

* * *

Lucy stood outside the gates of the only home she's known for the past 16 years of her life. Later in the day her Father was going to make the announcement, Lucy wanted to set off early on her own though before she was swarmed by her people. Tightening her backpack, she gave her home a silent goodbye before heading off into the towns below. She was going to visit every single one of them, not settling too long at one town or another. She was going to go out every day, meet new people, and learn all about them. She was going to return back home in love with her suitor right by her side. She was.

Lucy was too giddy for her own good. Realistically speaking she expected her journey to last for a month or two before returning home even though she had a year, right now she was thinking she'd fall in love with the first guy she met and be home before dinner. It was a funny thing, love. She walked the same path she walked down earlier in the day and greeted the same people as usual, except this time she was one of them! Later those same people would talk to their families about how the princess seemed awfully happy. So happy in fact, she started singing as she danced around the neighborhood.

Adventure! The unknown! All Lucy has read about in those history books for the past few years she was now about to embark on. Today was the day of the rest of her life... and she was a little tired. All this excitement, it really took it out of the young princess. Best to find a place to take a nap, somewhere that wasn't too populated though. She couldn't just sleep on the side of the road and Lucy looked around, spotting herself in a park. The outlines of trees and bushes, benches and paths stood out to her and she got the bright idea to sleep outside. Camping!

"This will be fun." Lucy told herself as she walked off the path into the unknown.

Camping! She was going camping! Oh it was going to be-

_"A hunting I will go, a hunting I will go, oh the great inferno I'm going to eat it all! A hunting I will go, a hunting I will go, oh the great inferno I'm going to eat it all."_

Lucy blinked, turning all around her. "HELLO?!"

_"HUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNTTTIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGG!" _

Lucy giggled at the singing voice, it sounding funny. She started walking towards it, hoping that she'd find the person to the voice. Maybe she wasn't the only one who had the plan to go camping outside.

"HELLO?! IS ANYONE THERE?!" She yelled.

_"Ooh Father won't b-..."_

"No! Don't stop singing!" Lucy called looking around. The voice stopped though.

"A hunting I will go, a hunting I will go, oh the great inferno I'm going to eat it all!" Lucy started singing.

Hopefully whoever was singing before would hear her.

_"... Hello?!"_

"Hello?!" Lucy yelled right back walking forward.

She was running forward, searching around for anyone's figure. She wasn't looking where she was going, if she was she would have seen the small crack that was in the middle of the forest. Lucy stepped right on top of it and fell through, screaming at the top of her lungs. It wasn't a long drop, Lucy continued to scream though as she landed until finally... she blinked open her eyes.

_"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"_

The voice was clearer now. Lucy blinked as she dusted herself off, finding herself in an unknown place. She looked around and gasped when she spotted real life objects in front of her. They weren't light or made out of light, they looked like light though. Lucy walked over and touched one of them, it was warm. They were crystals, this was a cave filled with dozens of huge clear crystals.

"Wow." She whispered.

One of the crystals suddenly turned a strange color that wasn't white, a color Lucy had never seen before. It was red, she didn't know what red looked like though so she didn't know what it was called. A voice, the voice she was hearing before, came out of the crystal.

_"Hello? Hello?!"_

Lucy blinked, "hello?"

The light started flickering inside of the crystal, moving around every time the voice started talking.

_"Is someone in there? Where are you?"_

Lucy blinked again and tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly as she walked cautiously to the crystal, "where are you?"

The crystal was quiet for a minute and Lucy took this time to close the distance between her and stone. The strange color was still there, the light wasn't flickering though and instead was frozen. Slowly, Lucy placed a hand on the crystal and stared. It felt just like a normal crystal would, smooth, cold, like touching glass.

_"I'm in a cave right now."_ The crystal said, the light coming to life.

Lucy gasped and pulled her hand back, feeling a sudden wave of warmth flowing through her. She open and closed her hand several times, staring wide eyed at it trying to see if what happened. Her hand looked normal and the warm feeling she just felt faded away.

_"Listen, this is going to sound crazy, but every time you talk I see this white light in this fire crystal. I think you might be trapped inside, I'm going to try and set you free by breaking it alright? Just give me a second."_

Lucy raised an eyebrow, break? A second later her eyebrows raised and she reached for the crystal, "NO DON'T!" She yelled.

_"Well why not?"_

"I'm not trapped inside of a crystal, I'm home. Well I'm in this secret cave in my Element, I'm talking to a crystal over here as well."

_"Element? You- what are you?"_

Lucy giggled, "how rude of me. My name is Lucy Heartfilia, heir to the throne of the Light Element. Pleased to meet you." She said remembering formalities. She bowed lightly to the crystal before remembering that the other person she was talking to couldn't see her. Embarrassed, her cheeks were a light red as she leaned back up.

_"OH MY-! THAT'S SO COOL! I'M ACTUALLY TALKING TO ANOTHER ELEMENT! HI! I'm Natsu Dragneel, a Fire Element! This is so cool! We haven't talked to another Element 1000 years, how is this even happening?!" _

The voice started laughing and Lucy couldn't help but smiling at the kind voice.

_"So your name is Lucy? Luu-cee, and you're about to be the leader of your kingdom? Cool! I'm like that as well, my old man is the chief of our village. I don't think he'll ever back down with the way I've been acting though, hahahaha, not that I mind. I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility, you know? Although we don't have any troubles here. He mostly just talks to people and listen to their complaints. That's all boring though."_

Lucy smiled lightly, the warmth in her hands spreading everywhere. The light was flickering everywhere as Natsu talked, spreading something across Lucy's fingertips. It just kept flickering and flickering until suddenly... the lights stopped.

"Natsu? Natsu?" Lucy called out.

_"Ah, yeah Lucy?"_

Lucy tilted her head, hearing the light voice. "You're tired?"

_"A little, I was singing myself to sleep before your voice woke me.."_

Lucy bowed, "I'm sorry."

_"No, no, sleeping is nothing compared to talking to a Light Element, though I mostly did all the talking."_

Lucy hummed, feeling tired herself. She settled herself on the ground and laid down, her hand still connected to the crystal while she used her other as a pillow.

"A nap sounds nice right now." She confessed.

_"Promise to still be here when I wake? I want to hear about your Element."_

She nodded, "promise. Sleep tight Natsu."

_"Sleep tight Lucy."_

* * *

_"A hunting I will go, a hunting I will go, oh the great inferno I'm going to eat it all!"_

Natsu groaned in his sleep, rolling around the floor.

_"A hunting I will go, a hunting I will go, oh the great inferno I'm going to eat it all."_

Natsu's eyes slowly opened and he spotted the cave he fell asleep at, his secret hideout, home away from home. His eyes scanned the walls, around him, trying to spot the person to the voice. Memories flooded through his mind when he laid his eyes on the crystal, its light flickering in the rock crystal. Lucy was singing, singing his song.

"Lucy?"

The lights flickered.

_"Natsu? Hello Natsu, finally awake I see... or well, hear."_

He laughed lightly and leaned up, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, did I keep you waiting?

_"Not really, I've just been singing to myself. Did I wake you?"_

Natsu yawned loudly, rolling around on the floor. "Sort of, I rather wake up to you singing then my old man yelling and kicking me awake any day though."

_"Hehehehe, you're funny Natsu. __I think it's my turn to ask the questions today, so I was wondering if the song I was singing earlier a chant or something to your Element?"_

"What, that hunting song? No, it was just something I made up while I was trying to find food."

_"Food?! What types of food does the Fire Elements eat? I remember yesterday you said something about... fire? So you eat your own people?"_

"Hahaha! No, we don't eat our own people. Here we have things like lava and flames, fire and hot things. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

_"I'm sorry, I've read about Fire Elements before, but our history books don't have pictures so I have no idea what those things look like. Even right now, I'm talking to this crystal and seeing this... vibrant color that doesn't exist in my country."_

"Really? That has to stink, I can't image not knowing colors. Well, when I'm talking to this my fire crystal it's shining white. Is that the color of your element?"

_"White? Yeah, we're light so it should be bright and light! Maybe a hint of yellow."_

"Oh, well then if the color is matching the element then the color you should be seeing is red right now."

_"Red, so this is red. It's a very warm color."_

"Hahaha, yeah it is. My favorite color to be exact."

_"You're very lucky to have colors Natsu, all I see here is clear, yellow, brown and the rarest of blue."_

"That's better than no color at all though, right? I've read that the Light Elements have huge cities, is that right?"

_"Yup! It's so easy to create things here, so when we think big we build big. What about in the Fire Elements? What do your homes look like?"_

"Crappy. We live in these stone houses, which is nice and all, but seriously none of us has a touch of artistic. That's the Ice Elements, too bad we don't have any here to help us. It does its purpose though and shelters us."

_"Ice Elements? You've seen Ice Elements?"_

"No, no, sorry. I've read about them though, my previous grandfathers were all book people and wrote notes about everything in this world of ours. I know a little bit about every Element, at least what's written about them. I'm not sure how accurate it is though since they're over 2,000 years old."

_"What have you heard about Light Elements? If it's accurate here then I'm sure they're accurate for the other Elements."_

"Well, I know they have a King and Queen that rules over the other people. The country is large and that the food there is strange.

_"Light energy isn't strange, it's very delicious."_

"My great grandfather wrote it's hard for other Elements to eat different foods that isn't their own, maybe that's the reason. I'd love to try every Elements' food though, except Water."

_"What's wrong with Water?"_

"Well Water... you don't know what water is, do you?"

_"Can't say I do."_

"Um, it's hard to describe then. Basically though when water hits fire the fire dies, so if I ate water then my flames would die out."

_"Oh, that sounds horrible."_

"It was, or at least that's what I read. Hmm, what else though? Oh! I remember, is it true that you guys don't have shadows?"

_"Yes! That's true!"_

"Why is that? I never understood that, how can you not have a shadow? Isn't it apart of you?"

_"Well sure when light hits a person, they cast a shadow, but the light itself doesn't have a shadow. What they're touching makes the shadow, not itself. Since we have a part of our savior in us we are light itself and we don't have shadows. That's not the case for everyone though, some of us here have shadows."_

"Really? Why is that?"

_"The light reveals everything, so when you are hiding something the light will cast a shadow over that something making you yourself have a shadow. When you reveal that secret the shadow disappears and we're back to being pure beings of light."_

"Wow, that sucks! So that means you can never have a secret?! You can never lie?!"

_"Sure you can."_

"But it defeats the purpose if people can tell you're lying! I'd never be able to get away with eating my savior, though it's not really a secret since my old man always seems to be waiting for me when I do."

_"You have a savior too? Wait, you eat your savior?! Why?! Didn't he save you all?!"_

"Well yeah, but he's delicious."

_"I thought your Element didn't eat its people!"_

"Well our savior doesn't look like us, he's a huge body of flames. Uh, sort of like what you're seeing in your crystal I hope. I see this light flaring around every time you talk, that's what my savior looks like. We eat fire, though it's a rule not to eat the savior, but one day I just wanted to try a taste and it was the best fire I ever tasted! I can't help but want more, but my dad is very strict and always kicks me away. Stupid Dad." Natsu grumbled.

_"Still... that's strange. My savior is a pillar of light that extends all the way into the sky. We can't really eat our savior, not that anyone ever would. Hehehehe, hahahaha, you're really funny Natsu!"_

Her laughter sounded so different than what he was used to. It was light and free, sounding like... like her Element. Or maybe sounding like what Natsu thought her Element sounded like. They didn't have light voices in his Element, even for women and babies. Her voice was beautiful, different, it brought a smile to Natsu's face as he listened.

"You have a very pretty voice Lucy."

_"Thanks Natsu, I like your singing voice. It's very... unique."_

"Hahaha! If you like mine then you'll love my Dad's! He taught me everything I know!"

_"Hehe, hehe, hmm. So Natsu Dragneel, future leader of Fire Element, what do you look like?"_

"Look like?"

_"Yeah, I'm curious. I imagine a man, since your voice is manly... you are a man, right? Cuz if your a woman then I am so sorry!"_

"No, no, you're right. I'm a man, well nearly. I'm 17 already."

_"Phew, alright so man. I picture you tall and um... manly? Maybe hair color the same as the color flickering in the crystal, red was it? And... I don't know. I'm leaning into the crystal to see if I can see you, I'm seeing nothing but red though."_

"Well I've never had to describe myself before, hmm. You're right about being tall, I'm still growing though so maybe about five something? Um, I'm tan, darn you don't know what that means. Uh, this is hard. I guess you can say I have a boyish face, two eyes, a mouth, a nose, ears. My hair is short, spiky and salm-, er, salmon is a lighter color than red. I'm sorry, this is really hard." Natsu apologized.

_"It's my fault for asking something impossible."_

"Not impossible, just a little difficult. Hmm, my old man describes my smile as evil, but my friends say I have a kind smile sometimes. They say I have bright eyes that seem to sparkle when I'm eating and a lax face after my belly is full. I'm incredible handsome, ravishingly handsome, the most handsomest male in my whole Element."

Lucy started laughing hard and Natsu smiled brightly.

_"I'm getting an image, tall, handsome, strong I assume?"_

"Definitely strong, how could I forget that trait?"

_"Hair lighter than red, a kind smile, I sort of have a friend who looks like you. I'm actually using him as a reference right now."_

"Just make him more handsome and stronger and you'll have me."

The two of them shared a laugh before Natsu leaned up, "your turn. Describe yourself."

_"Oh well this should be easy for you. I'm a girl, if you didn't already guess. I'm imaging your the same height as my friend so I'd be about to your neck with long blonde hair to my shoulders. I usually wear it in a ponytail, wait a second you know blonde right?"_

"Yeah, I know blonde."

_"Well good, blonde hair, brown eyes. You could say I have a kind smile too, and my eyes light up when I'm reading books. I love learning about things."_

"So I can assume your eyes lit up when I told you about me?"

_"Hehehe, yeah. I don't know why I told you that just now, so embarrassing."_

Embarrassing? Natsu's face lit up as an idea came to mind.

"Lucy! Look at yourself in the crystal off the reflection! If you're the same as me then we do this thing called blushing!"

_"Yeah, blushing. It happens when you're embarrassed right? Blood rushes to your cheeks and makes them feel warm."_

"Yeah, but your cheeks also changes colors, it changes pink. That should be my hair color, or close since it's salmon."

The lights in the crystal went still as Lucy stopped talking. Natsu waited there for her to return back, never taking his eyes off the crystal. He heard her sigh and the lights started moving a little.

_"Wow, your hair color is beautiful Natsu."_

Natsu gulped, feeling something heavy in his throat. He felt himself heat up as well and lowered his head, happy that they couldn't see each other.

_"So this is pink? Normally Light Elements don't get embarrassed so we don't blush a lot, wow though."_

"Hey Lucy, I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry right now. Do you think we could go on a little break and find some food?"

_"Oh, sure. For how long?"_

"About an hour or two, I've been gone from my village for days now. I need to pop back in to show everyone I'm still alive and mess with some people in particular. I'm sure your parents are worried about you too, huh? You spent the night in a cave, right? Was it close to your home?"

_"Oh, um, no. I'm far from home right now and my parents, well I'm sure they're worrying but I can't go home right now."_

"Can't go home? Don't tell me you tried to eat your Element as well?"

_"No silly! Of course not! I just, me and my father got into an argument about love so I'm on a journey by myself to find it."_

"Argument? Love? I'm not understanding, start from the beginning."

_"It's long, aren't you hungry? I can tell you when you come back-"_

"But if you can't go home you'll just be waiting here, right? Besides I want to know, it sounds important."

The voice stopped and Natsu settled in his little spot, leaning towards the crystal.

"I'm all comfortable and you have my attention, go ahead."

_"Okay, if you insist. So for the past few months my father has been trying to marry me off-"_

"Marry you off? How old are you?!"

_"16."_

"What the hell?!"

_"That's what I'm saying! I don't know why he's trying to do this, marrying me off when we aren't even having a war or anything! But he is my father and king and despite this horrible decision, he knows best. I can't just marry anybody though, so I asked him if I could explore our Element and find love first. I know it exists though he acts like it's a legend, I see it between him and my mother all the time. Anyways he agreed to give me a years time to go explore my Element and that if I couldn't find someone I'd want to marry, that I'd return home and marry who he wants."_

"That's stupid! Horrible! Why the hell is he doing this to you?!"

_"I don't know! But he's given me a chance to live on my own, away from the guards and palace walls and this might be the only chance he gives me."_

"If that's the case Lucy then why are you here? Talking with me? You should be trying to find your future husband?!"

_"Because I want to talk to you Natsu, I care more about finding more about you and your Element than finding a husband."_

"But you're not going to be married to me for the rest of your life! You should be out there, so go out there!"

_"Natsu, I have a year. A full year. I think I can waste a couple days of that talking to my new friend."_

"Friend?"

_"Yeah, we're friends... aren't we?"_

Natsu made a face, "friends sounds accurate, and as your friend I'm ordering to start your journey and start meeting people! This is unbelievable, what kind of Element is the Light?"

_"Don't let my father be the Light Element's example, he's just old fashion."_

"Way old fashion, my dad would never make me do that. Hell, he doesn't even expect me to get married."

_"Hehehe, well that's the story. Now go ahead and eat, I don't want my friend starving himself."_

"Lucy... don't waste your life on me. Although we just met I care for you and I don't think-"

_"Natsu, believe me when I say I want nothing more than my father to be proven wrong. I will go out in the world and I will find the love of my life, before that though I want to talk to you."_

Natsu shook his head although she couldn't see it.

_"If you feel that way about it though then how about we talk in weeks? This week I'll talk to you and next week I'll go out and talk to my people, trying to find someone I like. We'll continue to do that until the year is up."_

"Isn't the Light Element huge though? You can't just stay in this area for the year."

_"Natsu, I know what I'm doing. Please don't leave, I- I-... I've never had a friend like you before. I don't want to lose you."_

Natsu bit his bottom lip. He couldn't think about this right now, couldn't concentrate with his stomach growling like it was. His friend sounded so desperate for him though, so sincere when she said that last sentence.

"We can talk about this when I come back."

_"So you are coming back! Thank goodness."_

She sounded so happy, it bugged Natsu a little bit. He stood up and wiped his pants off, "I'll be back in two hours. If you aren't here I'll wait, okay?"

_"Don't worry Natsu! I'll definitely be here! See you soon!"_

Natsu imaged Lucy as she described at that moment. A little shorter than him, blonde hair as bright as the sun with a kind smile as she stared up at him, her brown eyes softening.

"You never told me if you were beautiful or not."

_"Isn't that conceited though?"_

"I think you look beautiful."

She laughed, _"you don't even know what I look like, thank you though."_

"Really though, it's your voice and the way you talk. You can't be that ugly if you're so kind. Even if you are ugly to people around me, you'd be beautiful to me."

Natsu wasn't really aware of what he was saying until it came out. It was something one would say to their crush, and Natsu felt a little embarrassed to had said something to a girl he met a day ago, it didn't mean it wasn't true though.

_"Thank you Natsu, I'm not sure about you though. You talk cocky and say your handsome, you could be really ugly though."_

"HEY!" Natsu yelled out and started laughing along with Lucy.

_"I'm leaving now before you change your mind, bye Natsu."_

"Bye Lucy."

Natsu picked up his bag and laid his hand on the fire crystal, dragging his hand away as he walked away. He needed to have a talk with his father, when he returned to the village he wasn't in their hut though. Natsu asked around, joking with some of his Elements, before learning that he was praying to their savior. Of course, Natsu should have known. It's only been a few days, his father wouldn't have dropped his guard so fast. Walking up to the top of the hill, he saw his dad standing up tall with his head bowed down to their savior.

"HELLO DAD! HELLO INFERNO!" Natsu greeted with a grand smile.

Kai turned around and glared down at his son before realizing that if he was going to eat the fire, he wouldn't have announced his presence. That glare turned into a small smile as the flames around him started burning brighter.

"Hello son, it's been a while."

"Yeah, you won't believe what I've been through." Natsu said walking up closer.

He chuckled as the flamers reached out for him; laughing as he started playing with their savior. Kai watched with amassing eyes as the flames tried to engulf his son.

"I'm glad our savior is so fond of you, he's very forgiving after you eating him so many times." Kai lectured.

"Inferno likes to be eaten, besides it's not like I eat all of him. Just a taste." Natsu said licking the flames.

His father was right there in a second, smashing his fist on top of Natsu's head and making him holler out in pain.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL OLD MAN!?"

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP EATING OUR SAVIOR!"

Natsu sat down and rubbed the bruise on his head, the flames once surrounding him moving back to the huge fire of their savior. Kai sighed and shook his head lightly at his son.

"What have you been up to boy?"

"Well I don't think I should tell you now that you nearly killed me!" Natsu yelled.

Kai shrugged, "suit yourself." As he sat down next to his son.

He reached his arm out and pulled Natsu into his chest, rubbing his head lightly as he hugged him.

"I found a way to talk to the Light Elements yesterday."

The petting stopped as Kai looked over his son, "what did you say Natsu?"

"Yesterday while sleeping in my usual hideout, which location must remain secret until I find a new one so you won't be able to find me, I heard this girl's voice. I could hear it through one of the flame crystals, I think it was a hole in the barrier surrounding our Elements. Anyway her name was Lucy and she was a Light Element. She was in her Division while talking to me in mine. It's strange and unbelievable, she had no idea about the barrier though or most of the other Elements." Natsu told him.

"That is strange; all Elements on our world were fighting except for ours and Lights. For them to not know about any other Element... is strange indeed. Are you sure this was a Light Element Natsu and not some person playing a trick on you?"

"I'm sure Dad, she was talking all about her Element and her ways. It matched with the stories in our libraries."

"Anyone has access to those books Natsu."

"Trust me though Dad, this was real. We can't really see each other, we can only hear one another. It's really strange, we both connected with crystals though. I'm supposed to meet back and talk to her again in an hour, I just thought you should know what's happening in your Element."

"As long as the barrier is up no threat or harm can come from this. Still though, this is peculiar. If there's a hole connecting to the Light Elements, what if there are holes scattered across the world connecting each Element with each other? Maybe you've just discovered the first clue into reuniting all the Elements again Natsu. I can't believe I'm saying this, but nice work."

"Hold on a second though old man, wasn't there a reason that the barriers were put up in the first place? Why are we trying to tear them down?"

The fire started acting around them, burning brighter and larger than before.

"Because that's what our savior wants. He misses the other Elements, I don't know what shape the other Elements saviors comes in but they were all friends once."

"Lucy says the Light Element's savior looks like a huge light beam extending all the way into the sky. Is he a friend of yours Inferno?"

Inferno started crackling around them and Natsu chuckled.

"I take it as a yes, I'm seeing Lucy in a little while. Is there anything you want me to tell the Light savior?"

There was a huge boom from the fire.

"I think he wants to say hello." Kai laughed.

Natsu laughed as well, "you can say that again."

The two of them started talking with their fire, reconnecting from the past few missing days. Natsu explained more about Lucy and her Element while Kai listened with open ears, giving his insights of what he learned from his father.

"So I take it you won't be home for a while?" Kai asked.

"Just for the rest of the week, after that Lucy's going to go out and try to find a husband. Seems traditions there are really old Dad, not at all like ours. Isn't that weird though? And another thing, I don't get how we're separated in the first place. All the Elements weren't fighting against each other, just within their other Section, so how did we all get separated? Weren't we at peace with Light? With Sky? And Earth? How come there's no contact between us?"

Inferno's flames started to dim lower.

"Natsu, remember in our world there are four Divisions and in those four Divisions are eight Sections. We aren't connected to Sky directly, in order to get there we have to pass Lightning. We can't just go to Earth, we have to pass Ice and Water first before getting near their land. Now if these Sections are fighting with each other and close each other off, even if we're friends with Sky if Lightning cuts itself off from Sky we can only go to Lightning. If Water and Ice cut itself off from us, we can never make it to Earth. Do you see? This feud to separate the Elements from just a single Element, actually hurt all of them. I don't know why Fire and Lightning is cut off though, we never had any troubles between us. Maybe this is why you found a hole in the barrier. Maybe they didn't want to be cut off completely so they didn't, our textbooks don't explain that to us. You can ask your new Element friend though if there was any bad blood between Elements though, Shadow had a huge influence with the Light. Maybe they made Light Elements make the barriers between us."

Natsu nodded, listening intently to his father's words.

"Inferno? Do you think you could break the barrier that keeps us from the Light Elements?"

The flames said nothing.

"I don't think he's strong enough Natsu, if he was wouldn't you think he would have already done it?"

"Hmm, maybe if I stop eating his flames he'd get more powerful, is that it Inferno? If I stop eating you will you grow stronger?" Natsu asked leaning forward.

The flames engulfed him and Natsu laughed, taking a bite out of them.

"Seems like that's not the case."

"NATSU!" Kai yelled trying to smack him again.

Natsu was quicker though and dodged it by the skin of his teeth, rolling away and getting one more mouthful of the flames before running for his life.

"See you later Dad! Inferno! I'll make sure to say hello!" He yelled running down the mountain.

"Ugh, why do you play my son's game Inferno?" Kai asked rubbing the back of his head.

Inferno make crackling sounds, sounding like he was laughing.


	13. Wishful Thinking

**BlackLynx17: So I want to update faster, so I'm going to be trying to do it faster. Maybe another update Friday after this one? Hopefully. Thanks for the reviews, I love you all!**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 13

Wishful Thinking

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Natsu saying he had to go out and find some food was very peculiar to Lucy; she ate light and light was everywhere around her so she's never had to go out and 'find' food before. Truth be told, she was finished eating in ten minutes and now was just sitting in the strange crystal invested cave all by herself waiting for Natsu's return. Maybe she could take a nap? But she wasn't sleepy. Maybe she could start on her quest then, going out and interacting with the people from this town to try and meet her future husband? There was no reason to find or create a home to live in, she rather sleep in here near Natsu, but she was going to need one for next week when she ventured off into her Element. Her parents were bound to have informed everyone about her journey by now; if they didn't hear back they were sure to worry.

Lucy sighed and nodded to herself, standing up. She would make an appearance, meet some new people, then come back in two hours for Natsu. Walking to where the hole in the cave was, Lucy waved her hands and created a staircase from the light. She walked out of the hole in the ground and turned around, waving her hand over the secret cave to make it like there was nothing there. She didn't know why, but she wanted to keep Natsu her little secret.

The Light Elements was a huge Section, her town centered in the middle of her Element. Scattered all around her was twenty-five different towns, places, and people. If she spent a week in each town and a week with Natsu, it would only be 50 weeks. That was her full year right there, more or less, and Lucy wasn't even including the time it would take to go from place to place and right back to Natsu. A week wasn't long enough to learn all about a person, to fall in love with a person. This was a problem, a really big problem.

The obvious solution would be to spend a small amount of time with Natsu before adventuring out on her journey. She'd come back for him in a year when she's married and they could rekindle their friendship. Not talking to Natsu for a full year though, it seemed horrible. They just met yesterday, but Lucy couldn't image her life without him. It was weird how fast their friendship sparked. Natsu wasn't apart of her life or her duties though. Lucy knew which one was more important, so she decided to spend a month here with Natsu before leaving on her journey. It was the only way, unless she skipped a few towns. If only love at first sight was more accurate and well-known, then she wouldn't be having this problem. She could look at everyone in town and quickly be on her way if none of them sparked her interests.

"LUCY!"

Lucy screamed and jumped, quickly turning around and glaring at the man laughing behind her. Sting had tears in his eyes and he wiped them off, laughing his butt off.

"Oh, that was good."

"STING!" She yelled smacking him.

"I'm sorry Lucy, that was way too easy though. Oh, that was funny. So, how's it feel not to be a princess anymore princess?" Sting asked me.

"They've made the announcement?"

"They made the annou- Lucy, they announced it all over the whole Element! It was mandatory to watch, hear, and listen. They even casted it in the sky, how could you have missed all of that?"

Because she was in a cave for the past 24 hours? Sting started staring hard at her and Lucy flipped her hair.

"I'm surprised the announcement was so big considering how much Father cares about me."

"Lucy, you know your father loves you."

"If he loved me Sting he would know that I don't want to marry anyone I don't love."

Sting sighed and scratched the back of his head, "you're avoiding the question, I have something to ask you though. Your Mother told me about your journey and told me to protect you."

"You are not going on this journey with me Sting!"

"Yeesh, calm down. I was just going to offer you my place for as long as you're going to stay here. Don't worry, we can keep it a secret between us. Don't want the suitors thinking you're with me now, do we?" Sting asked wiggling his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes and sighed out, "if that's the case then please leave. I'm about to go out and see if I can find a match with someone."

"Aw Lucy, come on. Do you at least know where I live?"

"Are you kidding Sting? How long have we been friends?"

"Right, alright then. See you later tonight?"

Lucy simply waved at Sting and started walking away. She obviously wasn't about to stay at Sting's because she wanted to spend time with Natsu, so she couldn't say yes or risk a shadow coming to her, and if she would have said no Sting would have asked why leading into her lying and saying no reason or her not answering, which was what she did right now. If you didn't answer, you don't tell the truth or lie. Sting wasn't stupid though, he was bound to know this trick although he chose to ignore it. Sooner or later he would corner her and ask for the truth, meaning after today Lucy couldn't go out anymore.

* * *

_"Lucy?"_

Lucy rolled around on the ground towards the crystal and reached out for it. She didn't have to hold it while talking to Natsu, she preferred feeling the warmth of his voice though.

"I'm here Natsu."

_"Sorry if I'm late, I've brought food to last for the week though. Hahahaha."_

She giggled herself, "about that Natsu. I was thinking about things after you left and realized that a week isn't enough time to fall in love with someone."

_"Oh."_

"So I've decided for the next month I'll be staying here and talking to you and after that for the rest of my year I'll be out and about. I know what I'm about to ask doesn't sound very fair, but could you wait for me until the year is up? I want to know you Natsu, for a very long time."

_"Of course Lucy! That's no waiting at all, a year is nothing between good friends! And you don't know what a huge relief it is for me now that I know you're going out there! I hope you find a real special guy! If he hurts you though just bring him down here and I'll kick his ass!"_

Lucy started laughing, shaking her head. "I wish you could be here Natsu, I think my journey would be much easier with a friend with me."

_"What about your other friend? The one who you imagined looked like me?"_

"Who Sting? Nah, he'd be more of an annoyance than help. He constantly teases me all the time and is always playing jokes."

_"Oooh, sounds like someone has a crush on you!"_

"Stop being immature Natsu, Sting can't like me. He's always so mean."

_"Boys usual tease girls they like. So what about Sting? Think he could be your lucky one?"_

Lucy sighed out lightly leaning on her hand, wondering. "Sting is like family, I think he is family actually. Ever since I can remember he has always just been there, you know? There's no way I could image him like that."

_"Ouch, I feel bad for Sting. Next time you see him please let him down easy."_

"Shut up Natsu!" Lucy giggled.

_"Before I forget, I was talking to my savior earlier and he wanted me to tell you to say hi to your savior."_

Lucy blinked, her eyebrows furrowing a little bit. "Wait a second, your savior can talk?"

_"Well not talk necessarily, he can communicate if we ask the right things though. Sort of like yes and no really. Father told me that all saviors were friends once, especially Light and Fire. They didn't want to be separated from each other, but the barrier was casted anyway."_

It was killing Lucy to know there was someone out there who was more knowledgeable than her. Her curiosity was blooming, begging to be released.

"Hold on a second! Barriers? Saviors? How much to you know about the world now Natsu?"

_"Nearly everything. Father didn't know why history was hidden from your Element, it's not like there was anything to hide."_

"Natsu tell me! It's killing me right now that I don't know!" She whined.

_"Alright, alright, sorry. So long story short all the Elements lived in harmony, the saviors all best friends. Soon fights and wars started breaking out between Elements and the barriers were set up to separate us all. For some reason our section was separated from the others even though Fire wasn't at war with anybody."_

"Okay, now give me the long story." Lucy said nodding her head, "with much more details."

_"Come on Lucy! It's my turn to ask the questions! After I talked with my father I took a journal about the Light Elements for my journey to read, because I didn't know what to ask or even remember much about your Element, and discovered that no other Element can see things there. How does that work?"_

"Come on! That is not fair! Can't you wait the year to ask your questions?"

_"Now that's unfair, so like is everything invisible there? Or is the light so bright it blinds people who don't have special eyes?"_

"No, well sort of. Everything here is made out of light. There's light in your Section, right?"

_"Yeah, the sun gives us light."_

"So there's light particles from the rays of the sunlight that we Light Elements can control. You can say that our eyes are trained to see these light particles, I'm sure we could train other Elements to see these particles as well. If another Element came though all they'd see is a bright like, like staring into the sun I guess."

_"What about Elements? Are you made up of the particles as well?"_

"Seeing as how we live, breathe, and eat these particles, yes. We're part of the Light."

_"So when I visit you, I wouldn't be able to see you? That sucks, how can I introduce myself to your folks and friends?"_

"Hahahaha, I guess they'll just have to hear me just like you... wait a second, visit?"

_"Who knows, one day this barrier might be weak enough to break and I'll be able to visit you, or maybe you'll visit me. My father's looking into it right now, that reminds me yet again that I'm supposed to ask you to try and find out whatever you can about the barrier separating as well."_

"You're actually serious about this Natsu?"

_"Why wouldn't I be? The Light and Fire Elements are friends. Just go tell your savior what my savior said, I'm sure your Light would react positively."_

Lucy gulped, blinking her eyes slowly. "So one day, we could meet?"

_"Sure we can, anything's possible. I mean, just look at us. We're defying the impossible right now! By talking and being best friends despite the barrier and vision gape. And may I say Lucy, you are looking exceptionally beautiful than you were two hours ago."_

A light blush graced Lucy's cheeks and she smiled softly, curling her hand around the crystal. She blamed the lights inside it for the warm fuzzy feeling that was spreading through her body.

"Thank you."

_"You're welcome. Wow, so a full month. It seems like a long time now but when time runs out it's going to pass so fast. Hmm, what else did I want to know about? Or you? I mean I told you about my home, but I didn't tell you where I live. If you ever find yourself in my part of town, go to where the largest volcano is. On the side of that volcano will be my village, on top of the volcano our savior!"_

"Wait a second, a volcano? What's that?"

_"Hmm, well it's like this huge mountain that shoots ups lava! Fire kind of, though it doesn't taste as good. It helps us build our homes so I guess it's kind of useful."_

Lucy hummed, imagining a tower, mountains were tall right? Shooting out lights. She understood, if only a little, and nodded.

"Okay, you live beside a volcano. Isn't that dangerous? I imagine that the lava is hot?"

_"Because of our savior is on top of the volcano it lays dormant. Anyways my house is the closest to the volcano, this shitty looking thing with the roof constantly on fire. My father snores flames. I'm not usually there though, sometimes I'm at the savior meaning you'll have to climb the volcano, no worries though there are stairs there, or I'm in my secret hideout. Now I can't explain where it is, but if you start at my village and look at the rocks, I drew little arrow symbols on some so that I won't get lost."_

It was funny hearing this, talking like they were about to meet when the truth of the matter was... the truth was... Lucy shook her head trying not to think too deeply about it. Instead she tried to keep her mind off it.

"Well since you won't know left from right, up from down, if you ever find yourself stuck in my Section then just head for the brightest light. That will be our savior, after that just wait under the light and I'll find you."

_"Waiting is boring though, I know! I'll be singing, using my amazing voice. Laaaaaa!"_

"With a voice like that there's no way I won't be able to hear it. Hahahahaha!"

_"Hahahahaha!"_

"Now, tell me more about the other Elements! What kind of saviors do they have? What kind of place do they live in? We all look the same, right? Or does Sky have wings? Do we look the same? You said you had two eyes, two ears, a nose and mouth, but do you having something else? Like perhaps three arms? Five hands? Maybe a layer of something that makes you able to pick up fire and lava?"

_"Lucy, Lucy, one question at a time! You're overloading my brain!"_

"Sorry, I just want to learn more Natsu."

_"And I'll answer all your questions, let's enjoy them this though. So, what was the first one again?"_

Lucy giggled and shook her head, "how about we start with what you did while you were gone?"


	14. Our Secret

**BlackLynx17: Just finished watching the new FT episode, it's so cute! I love Kemokemo!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 14

Our Secret

* * *

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye between the two Elements. Though the world around them didn't matter, that didn't mean it stopped moving without them. Sure Natsu's father knew what his son was doing, but the guardian Lucy's parents hired had no idea where their princess was or was doing. It annoyed Sting to no ends as he searched for the girl, not thinking the worse of things given her nature, but certainly thinking some things.

Finally when he had some sign that a blonde haired beauty was heading to visit their savior, though it might have been a false lead, he ran his fasted towards the Light Pillar. What he saw didn't disappoint; his princess was kneeling under the Light Pillar praying. He stood there, breathing heavily from running so fast. He watched as Lucy started glowing, rubbing his eyes a little bit. He's never seen the Light Pillar do that. All of a sudden the Light Pillar started shining brighter, blinding him as he covered his eyes.

"Lucy?"

Lucy turned around and saw him, smiling lightly. She giggled and stood up, spreading her arms out wide.

"Do you see how happy our savior is right now?" She asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah, what in the world did you tell it Lucy?"

She hummed lightly and spun back around, "a secret between friends."

Sting shook his head lightly and walked over to her.

"Lucy, where the hell have been been for the past two weeks?! I've been worried like hell! Your parents have been breathing down my neck wanting to know how you've been! Do you see my shadow? Do you see how dark it is now from lying to them?! If I say one more lie, I might get consumed into the Shadow Element!"

Lucy blinked, "you don't belief in that myth so there's another lie right there."

"Lucy, where the hell have you been? What aren't you telling me?!"

"I don't want to tell you Sting."

Sting blinked, this being a first. "You're keeping a secret."

"I am."

"Do you honestly believe that if you simply avoid the question that a shadow won't appear? Lying is lying Lucy."

"Tell me then, do you see my shadow?"

Sting looked behind Lucy and saw nothing.

"Honestly Sting I don't know why you don't just avoid questions, then you wouldn't have a shadow as dark as yours."

"I'm honest about being a liar Lucy."

"The only thing you're honest about it seems."

Sting let out a harsh sigh and reached out, grabbing Lucy's arm. She glared and tried to pull her arm back, "let go of me Sting."

"No, not until you tell me the truth."

"Sting, let me go. I'm not playing."

"Tell me the truth or else I'm going to tell your parents!"

"That doesn't work anymore! I'm on my own now! Now release me!" Lucy yelled finally pulling her arm back.

"What? Did you find a man already? Are you bunking with him? Is that what you're not telling me?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and shoved passed him, walking down the stairs back to the city. Sting followed right after her, right down her neck.

"No? What then? Are you planning on killing your father? On becoming the new Queen? Why aren't you talking to me Lucy, I'm only worried!"

"Sting," Lucy warned turning around, "I am telling the truth when I tell you that I don't want you to know. I don't need you babysitting me Sting, I'm completely fine and safe where I'm staying right now."

"I'm worried for you Lucy, there's truth to that."

"There's no need to be Sting, now leave me alone."

Lucy started leaving, Sting standing where he was watching her. Obviously he wasn't about to leave her alone so Lucy had to waste her time, going around visiting old friends, meeting people, trying to make him lose her. Finally when enough became enough, Lucy started running all around the city. Sure Sting was a faster runner, Lucy was swifter though and quickly duck and hid under anything that could shield her. After wasting so many hours she was going to take out of finding her true match, finally she didn't see Sting anywhere and ran towards the park. She ran into the forest trees, not the path set out for Elements, until she made it to her hideout. By the time she was there she was out of breath, sweating, panting, and crying lightly as her heart raced in her ears.

_"Lucy?"_

"Natsu." Lucy whimpered.

_"Lucy? What's wrong Lucy? What's happening?!"_

Lucy giggled and shook her head lightly, "it's nothing Natsu. Just an adrenaline rush. While I was visiting my savior Sting found me and tried to get the truth out of me."

_"Did you lie? Isn't it like a sin or something for royalty to have a shadow? What's going to happen to you?!"_

"No need to worry, I don't have a shadow Natsu. I didn't answer any of his questions so I was neither lying or telling the truth."

_"Oh, smart. Why are you keeping me a secret though Lucy? Are you ashamed of me or something?"_

"Quite the opposite, I want to keep you all to myself."

_"... Oh, I see."_

"Why? Are you tired of talking to little old me?"

_"Of course not Lucy! I love talking to you! So tell me, how did the Light Pillar react to the hello?"_

Lucy smiled, "very positively! Light Pillar started sparkling so much brighter than before it was amazing! Though Light Pillar didn't say anything, it did reacted and said hello back I believe. Too bad that's all they can say to each other."

_"Maybe so, for now. So Lucy, how do you think you're going to be on your journey? What's your game plan? It's coming up fast you know."_

Lucy sighed sadly, "don't remind me. I just plan on being myself, you know? Walking up to people, talking to them. If I like them I'll talk to them some more, probably go on some dates. Just regular dating I guess."

_"Dating takes a long time though! So if you find someone in the first town you go to and stay there dating for six months, if the two of you break up right after what is the point? He just wasted your time!"_

"Hehehe, honestly Natsu it seems I didn't think this much through. I'm sort of hoping for a love at first sight thing to happen to me; I honestly don't know though. I imagine me, hanging out with a group of people, talking it up when suddenly I just see him. I don't believe he sees me at first, he's laughing with his own friends, but when he looks up our eyes meet and just... love appears. You know? Sort of like how fast we became friends after hearing each others voices."

_"Friends at first voice, something like that?"_

"Yeah, hopefully."

_"I have no doubt Lucy that you'll find the person you're meant to be with."_

Lucy started feeling warm, like always she blamed the crystal. She leaned up off the floor and wrapped her arms around it, resting her cheek on the crystal and feeling herself heat up.

"I wish I could see you Natsu."

_"Yeah Lucy, same here."_

* * *

"So son I've been doing some research and it seems that the barriers have been around for a thousand years, in other words they are ancient. It's no wonder you found a hole, with a time spand that old whoever casted the spell must be growing weaker or the spell itself must be wearing off."

Natsu stared up at the sun and sighed out, letting Inferno burn up his arm.

"Natsu? Are you listening my boy? Father to Natsu, over."

Natsu sighed out again and Kai gave him a strange look before looking at Inferno.

"What's up with him?" He asked their savior.

Inferno started burning around and Kai saw a flame in the shape of a heart before the flames returned back to burning and crackling. Kai blinked, nodding his head, and 'ah' ed. He walked over to his son and sat down next to him, lying on the ground just like him.

"How's Lucy doing?"

"Fine, she's about to leave on her journey to find her husband. It'll be a year before I can talk to her again after this week." Natsu said lazily.

"Oh, and how do you feel about all of this?"

"Happy that she won't be forced to marry someone her father's pushing her towards; I know she's going to find someone. I just wish I could go with her... have you figured out a way to break the barrier?"

"No, not yet. But son, are you sure you wish to go with her on this journey? Or do you wish that you could be with her?"

"What's the difference? As long as I can see her."

His son annoyed him to no ends. Natsu sighed once more, raising his arm to his chest. He saw some of his savior's flames lingering on his arm so he started eating them, they didn't even cheer him up though. His best friend was leaving and the most delicious flames in the whole Element wasn't cheering him up.

"I should be heading back, I told her a hour." Natsu said standing back up.

Kai was surprised in the least that Natsu kept checking in with him instead of spending every living second trying to be with Lucy. He stood up with his son and reached for his shoulder, stopping him where he was walking.

"Do you like her son?"

Natsu blinked and looked up at him, "of course I do. She's my best friend."

His son was an idiot. A huge one. Thank goodness that he was his father though or else Kai wouldn't know what to think of that. With Natsu heading back to Lucy, Kai stayed with their savior and prayed.

"There must be a way Inferno, there simply must be a way to break the barrier."

The flames started sparkling as they headed towards Kai, spiraling around his head.

"Huh? Oh, you're right. I forgot to discipline Natsu for eating you, my bad. He just looked so... sad."

The flames died down and Inferno stayed where his home was, burning less brightly. It seemed like the both of them sighed out the same time, wondering about the same next chief. That chief was walking back to his secret hiding place, ducking under the cave entrance as he slid down near the crystal. He heard voices coming in, now that he was closer though he heard that these voices weren't... Lucy's.

_"Why in the hell is she sleeping out in a cave? What is she thinking?!"_

This voice most certainly wasn't Lucy's. Natsu glared at the fire crystal, walking around it like an enemy.

_"In what Element is a cave more attractive than a home? Does she hate me so much that she rather sleep here? Lucy."_

Lucy didn't want anybody to know who he was, so Natsu should stay quiet. Right? This guy will leave sooner or later, hopefully sooner, but he'll come back right? He'll come back and Lucy won't be able to say anything because of Natsu or risk having a shadow. Shadows were a bad thing in the Light Element for some reason. Maybe... was this guy Sting? He knew Lucy, and Natsu remembered her saying that she was supposed to be staying with Sting for part of her journey. If this was the guy risking her getting a shadow, if Natsu revealed himself then maybe he'd leave Lucy alone.

"Sting?" Natsu whispered softly.

_"Lucy? Lucy, are you in here?!"_

So it was Sting. Lucy won't like him talking to him like this, but she'll be leaving him soon. All too soon. If it was Sting's job to watch over her, then maybe if Natsu befriended him then he could have some way to check up on Lucy. Yeah!

"Yo Sting! It's nice to finally meet you!" Natsu said in a cheerful voice.

_"Who are you?! Where are you hiding?! Show yourself!"_

"Calm down bro, just look for the crystal with the fire burning inside of it. Listen, my name is Natsu Dragneel and I'm a Fire Element. I'm also Lucy's best friend."

_"What the- there's no way! All the other Elements are extinct!"_

"For some reason that's what they wanted you to know, but trust me when I say that we're all very much alive and well."

_"So this is what she's been hiding from me... well I can see why! Hi Natsu! I'm Sting Eucliffe!"_

"I know man, Lucy's told me so little about you!"

_"Really? Like what?"_

"Well for starters, your name is Sting Eucliffe, and then for enders, you're sort of an annoying liar who always teases her!"

_"Hahahaha, that pretty much sums me up. She hasn't said much about you to me though, so excuse me for not knowing you."_

"Nah that's all fine, she wanted to keep me a secret. All to herself and such."

_"Then why reveal yourself to me? If you would have stayed quiet then I would have just left not knowing anything."_

"Well yeah, but Lucy and I have an arrangement. She's supposed to be finding a husband right now-"

_"Wow, she really did tell you everything."_

"And I told her my everything, anyway it's a year long but she wanted to talk to me, right? So she said she'd spend a month with me before going on her journey, coming back after she was married so we can rekindle the flames of our friendship. Today's sort of our last week before I never speak to her for a year and I was hoping, by befriending you, you could visit me and keep me updated on her progress."

_"Lucy's stronger than you think, you know."_

"I know, I'm still allowed to worry as her best friend though. Hopefully we'll become best friends too now so you'll want to help me."

_"Hmm, we'll see. So, Fire Element. Tell me what's that like! Do you have any taboos? Here it's having a shadow, which I'm sure Lucy told you."_

"Yeah, shadows aren't really big things here."

_"Shadows aren't exactly 'light', it's so stupid really but whatever."_

"Why is it that you have a shadow Sting?"

_"Hold it, I don't think we're that good of friends yet."_

Natsu shrugged, "fair enough. The worse thing you could do here is eat our savior, which I do on a regular basis. All I get is a knock to my noggin, that's about all though if I get away. If I'm caught though, oh!" Natsu shivered, "my dad beats the life out of me. It's super scary, I've mastered the art of getting away though."

_"Hahahaha! That's so-... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE STING?! Oh look Natsu, Lucy's home! Hiya Lucy!"_

"Hi Lucy!" Natsu called out.

_"Hi Natsu, no wait! Sting! How the hell did you find this place?! Without any help from you, how could you keep this a secret?! It's none of your business what I do and just! Hold on a second Natsu, we'll be right back!"_

Natsu tried to hear more, but the two left the cave. He sighed out and started walking around the cave, kicking a rock as he waited for his two friends to come back. He could hear some faint screams, probably from Lucy, every once in a while. Finally after what seemed like hours, but was more along the lines of ten, maybe fifteen minutes, Lucy and Sting came back.

_"Natsu, why did you start talking to Sting?"_

"Oh hey Lucy, Sting didn't explain?"

_"Well he did, but- SHE WAS EMBARRASED NATSU! HAHAHAHA! SHUT UP STING!"_

Natsu chuckled lightly to himself, "then there you go Lucy. I want to know that you're safe on your journey. Since I can't be over there, hopefully Sting can volunteer to keep me updated."

_"Natsu... it's time for you to go Sting. What?! I just got here though! I don't care! This is Natsu and me time, Stings are not welcomed! You can have Natsu to yourself after I leave! This is totally unfair, what do you say Natsu?!"_

"It's up to her bro, I'm her little secret."

_"Ha! So leave! Lucy..."_

Natsu leaned toward the crystals, trying to hear the whispers. They were so faint though, he couldn't make them out.

_"Alright, alright. Just go now, and remember not to tell a soul! Yes Princess! See you later Natsu!"_

"Bye Sting!" Natsu called out, feeling some relief in his chest.

_"Ugh, thank Light Pillar he's gone. You really did not need to talk to him Natsu, I would have checked up on you."_

"And now you both can. Besides, what if I'm able to break the barrier and come to visit? Sting could be my tour guide, finding me at your savior until you return. If the Light Element is as big as you say it is, I don't think my voice can echo that far."

_"No, I'd be able to hear it. No matter where Natsu, even out of a thousand, millions of voices, I'd be able to pick yours out in a heartbeat."_

Natsu felt himself blushing and walked over to the crystal, sitting directly in front of it. He tried to picture Lucy, beautiful, blonde hair, bright brown eyes, a kind smile. His imagination wasn't all that well though so the face always ended up blurry.

"You're beautiful Lucy."

It was the only thing that he could say that he was completely sure, but at the same time, unsure about. Of course Lucy would be beautiful to him, but to other people she could be whatever. Lucy was beautiful though, to Natsu.

_"Natsu... any luck breaking the barrier?_

"My father's learning as much as he can, I'm sure he'll find a way."

_"... Do you think he'll find it in a year's time?"_

"Anything is possible, why? Do you want for me to attend your wedding?"

Natsu started laughing, Lucy stayed quiet though. He blinked, wondering what was the matter with the girl.

"Lucy? I'm sorry, that wasn't a joke? I'd love to go to your wedding, don't be mad!"

_"It's not that Natsu, just... how do you feel about me getting married?"_

Natsu blinked, "the answer is happy right? That you get to marry for love. I wish you all the best."

_"Is that really how you feel though Natsu? Honestly? What's your heart telling you?"_

"My heart? Um... well my stomach is telling me I'm hungry a bit, but my heart? Hmmm."

Natsu started thinking about Lucy, a calming feeling spreading though him. When he imagined a figure beside her, wrapping his arms around her, being by her side like he wanted to be. There was a short feeling of annoyance and irritation.

"I feel annoyed that I can't be there for you Lucy." Natsu answered honestly.

_"Ah... Natsu I... I... I miss you."_

All those negative feelings disappeared and was filled with laughter, "you miss me? I'm right here though?"

_"Yeah, hehehe, silly me."_

"Now I'm going to miss you after tomorrow, try not to miss me so much you ignore your future husband, alright?"

_"Understood, hehehe. Hopefully the two of you will get along."_

Everything sank in when Lucy said those faithful words. His best friend was about to find her significant other. His best friend was about to get married. His best friend was about to have a life, a family. And Natsu would still be stuck here, alone. The warmth seemed to leave his body and Natsu just felt cold. Cold in his Element and alone though his best friend was right next to him.


	15. The Journey Begins

**BlackLynx17: It feels like it's been a while. Has it? Anyways, I'm sorry to say everyone that I'm not going to say anything. You'll find out what I meant by sorry though when you read this chapter, it's a good chapter. Do you find it weird when an author calls their story good? I mean, because they wrote it, of course they think it's going to be good, so as readers don't you find that stupid? Or think, well I'll be the judge of that...**

**These are the types of things I think of when I'm writing author notes. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 15

The Journey Begins

* * *

"I'm surprised that you're not with Natsu right now, isn't this your last day?" Sting asked.

Lucy was quiet, pressing her legs together as she looked down at her knees. Sting raised an eyebrow and cleared his voice, trying to catch her attention.

"I... I want to go on this journey and find someone to marry." Lucy said.

Sting's eyes widened as he staggered back, tripping over his chair and falling flat on his bottom; this was still not enough to stop him as he started crawling away from Lucy in shock as he stared at the dark shadow appearing behind the Light Element's princess. Lucy didn't see it so she didn't know, but from Sting's reaction she learned that it had appeared; instead of shame though she felt something else as her face turned soft.

"I knew it, I want to stay here." Lucy whispered softly.

The shadow disappeared in an instant and Sting quickly got back up.

"Lucy, what the hell?" He asked.

"The one good thing about being a Light Element is that you have to be honest with yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not going to go on my journey, I'm going to stay right here." She sighed out.

Stings eyes narrowed, "you begged your father to let you marry for love, so why are you about to throw that all away?"

Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head lightly.

"It's not... you don't love Natsu, do you?" Sting asked.

Lucy flinched, "no."

A shadow appeared and Sting started laughing. When Lucy saw it she felt kind of relieved, she realized that love existed. Love was really real and so was love at at first sight, or well voice. She, she...

"You're in love with a Fire Element."

Lucy giggled a little bit, "it appears I am."

"If you haven't noticed you two are separated by a barrier! And you don't even know what he looks like! He could be the ugliest Element in the world?!"

"Minor details, he's been trying to find a way to break the barrier. It's going to happen, especially when I start trying to help."

"And you think he'll want to marry you?"

"I believe that there's a chance that he might like me."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Well there's only one way to find out now, isn't there?!" Lucy asked standing up.

"Do you think your dad will agree to this?"

"He will when I introduce Natsu to him, I don't see why he wouldn't. Natsu's the prince of his Element, I'm essentially the princess here. Our Elements would unite, we'd become stronger. There's nothing for him to complain about and besides, he never specified that my husband had to be a Light Element." Lucy laughed walking out of Sting's house.

Sting followed after her, "but I think that was at least implied! Think about what you are doing Lucy!"

"What I'm doing is finally, for once, fighting for my chance at happiness. You wouldn't know anything about that though, would you? Because you're always happy, because you have no idea what it feels like to be seen, but not heard just like- just like a shadow."

Sting watched her go, paralyzed for a second. He couldn't believe he just heard her say such a thing, couldn't believe how this day just unraveled when at the beginning they were having such a nice talk. When he found out he could move again and blink, slowly his eyes turned into fists as he replayed her final words. So she was going to fight for her change at happiness, huh?

"Then I'm finally going to fight for mine."

* * *

_"Natsu? Natsu? Where are you bro?"_

Natsu heard his name being called and leaned up, "Sting? Is that you? Where's Lucy?"

_"Natsu, listen. Lucy's not coming here anymore."_

Natsu's heart froze, "she left already?"

No, they still had a day. They still had some time left with each other. They didn't get to say good-bye, they didn't get to share more laughs and final moments with each other. She wouldn't have left him without doing any of those things.

_"No, Lucy decided not to go on her journey. She realized that her dream guy wasn't going to be anywhere in our Element, because who she fell in love with isn't here."_

"Sting, I'm not understand. What happened to Lucy? Why isn't she here right now? Why did she stop her journey?"

_"Wow, you really are an idiot Natsu. She stopped because she fell in love with you. She chose you Natsu, she wanted to marry you."_

Natsu blinked, very slowly. "She did?"

_"Unbelievable, right? She doesn't even know what you look like, yet she wanted to be with you."_

"She did." Natsu sighed out, in relief. She loved him, she loved him.

_"Judging by how your reaction is, I can guess you're happy about it."_

Natsu blushed looking away, "where is she? Where's Lucy? Why isn't she here telling me this herself?"

_"Because I turned her over to the palace guards. Lucy's being treated as a criminal at the moment because of my testimony."_

"Sting?! What are you talking about?! What did you do?!"

_"I simply told the truth for once in my life; that Lucy had found a way to communicate with our enemies of the Fire Element and was telling them all our secrets. I don't know about your Element, but that's considered treason here. Of course nothing is going to happen to her, she's the king's daughter after all, but this matter is being taken very seriously and secretly."_

"Sting why did you do this?! Why?! I thought she was your friend!"

_"When I ask Lucy what she was thinking coming here and waiting for you to break this barrier separating us, she told me that for once she was going to fight for her happiness. That struck something to me. It was wrong of you to give her false hope Natsu; this barrier is not going to break just because you both will it too."_

"I'm looking for a way! I will find one!"

_"It's been a thousand years Natsu since our two Elements have met so please excuse me if I have doubts. What she said spoke to me though, made me want to fight for my own happiness and well, Lucy makes me happy. I love her."_

Natsu knelt down towards the crystal, so wishing to reach out and strangle Sting.

_"It was decided when we both turned six that we were to be married. Can you believe that? Six. I didn't like girls like that back then, and later when we became twelve I told my parents I didn't want to marry a girl I didn't love. I was just like Lucy. Then I met her and started spending time with her and it turned out she was really nice. She was beautiful too and I, I fell in love with her. I made sure our parents wouldn't tell her just yet because I wanted Lucy to have a chance to fall in love with me as well, I wanted to be her friend first and hope that her love would grow for me, but then this journey happened and I started to get worried. What if she found someone else she loved? I was more confident though, if she couldn't find what she was looking for she was going to have me to come back to and realize what she was looking for this entire time... was me. I was cocky, I didn't expect for another player to come in."_

"Sting you bastard!"

_"Natsu, I like you. You're a nice guy and you might be perfect for Lucy, but you're not here. I am. You can't be here for Lucy, I can. I do like you though, so I'm going to give you a year. Lucy's going to be under house arrest, or well palace arrest, until the year is up before we have our wedding. I'll give you until then to try and come up with a way to break this barrier and come here. If you are able to come and get her, I'll give her to you and back off with no problem at all. You have a year Natsu or eleven months. Don't make her wait too long because the longer it takes you, the closer she'll be to me."_

"Sting! Sting let me at least talk to her! Let me tell her how I feel! Sting! Stiiing!"

_"Sorry Natsu, but I'm destroying this secret crystal between us. This will be the last time we talk to each other."_

"STING! STING! STING!"

Natsu yelled long past when Sting left and stayed there even though he knew none of them were coming back. Finally though, after he finally got over his grief and all that was left was his anger, Natsu picked himself up and started heading back home. Sting, that asshole, was giving him a chance and Natsu was not about to waste it. He had a year to get to Lucy and he was going to get to her or die trying.

"Wait for me Lucy, I'll be there soon."


	16. The Plan

**BlackLynx17: It's funny because in the new AAA chapter I posted up it was about Levy and Gajeel and now this new Elements of the Heart chapter is about Levy and Gajeel. I don't know if I told any of you guys this, but I'm trying to be a Chef in real life and I'm attending Culinary Art College right now. I didn't know if I told you guys are not so there, now you know a bit more about me. Enjoy your chapter.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 16

The Plan

* * *

We are at the last two Elements in this epic tale. Division 4, Sections Shadow and Earth. The Elements of Shadow had the largest population since when the world was united that was where the exiles and criminals would be sent. The Earth Element had to be the second purest Element there was in the world, after Light. There was a standard agreement between the two Elements in Division 4. If the Earth Elements saw good in certain Shadow Elements they would be saved from their Element or if any Element wanted a live a life of darkness they could enter the shadows. Elements could enter freely, but could not exit the shadow territory without the permission of an Earth Element, so you could say that Shadow was under the jurisdiction of Earth.

Since there was already a barrier between these two Elements, nothing changed for them for the past thousand years. Earth Elements were free to go inside of the Shadow Element's territory, but were not able to leave without the help of another Earth Element. In the thousand years probably only a handful of Shadow Elements were able to leave. The others were left alone in their own darkness. The Shadow Elements didn't think of this agreement as fair though since the Earth Elements held all the power; they cursed the barrier and tried to break it several times over with no such luck. The barrier was too strong for them and the Earth Elements were too wise to be tricked. The Shadow Elements were bad, evil, the lowest Element in this world, and should never be allowed to roam free with the other Elements is what were written in history books. They would kill every last beautiful creature on Earthland if they were set free, so the barrier was kept up with no plans on taking it down ever.

If there was any Elements that were about to have a war, it would be Shadow and Earth. And that was exactly what was about to happen once the new King of the Shadow Elements was crowned. He promised his people light from within the darkness, he promised them freedom and no boundaries at all. He promised them the Earth Elements territory, and that was exactly what he was going to give them. There was only one small problem to all of this though.

"How on Earthland do you plan on doing so Gajeel?" Rogue asked.

King Gajeel groaned as he sat in his throne, rolling his neck around. "You got me little brother, I was hoping you'd come up with something."

"For the past thousand, maybe even longer, years every Shadow Element has been trying to break through the barrier and you expect me, your sixteen year old little brother, to be able to figure out a way just like that?" Rogue asked.

"Now when you say it like that Ryos it doesn't sound as pleasant." Gajeel said simply.

"Don't call me that, you're an idiot I hope you know."

"I'm your King."

"Fine, you're King Idiot. Is that better your majesty?" Rogue asked bowing down.

"Screw off Rogue, I don't need you ruining my parade."

Rogue sighed, "it's been tried before brother and no one can break the barrier from our side. The only way to go to the Earth Elements is for one of them to save us, they created the barrier remember? Only they know how to destroy it."

Gajeel glared at the wall before blinking, "that's it! If they made it, they can destroy it! Quick, search the kingdom and see if we can find someone who was once an Earth Element!" He ordered.

Rogue sighed yet again, "they don't banish Earth Elements to our Element Gajeel, if they did they would be stupid. I don't know what they do to the Earth Elements that are bad, but they aren't sent here."

"Oh." Gajeel said then started glaring at the wall.

"Now if one of us was able to be saved, then we could learn their secrets and break the barrier ourselves."

Gajeel raised his hand and opened his mouth.

"That's impossible though since in order to be saved, they make us tell the truth while being tested."

Gajeel pouted, "that was such a good idea though."

Rogue shrugged, "unless you can hide the truth brother it's pointless."

"What if we train someone to do that though and then knock their head so hard they get amnesia and don't remember our evil plan?"

"If they have amnesia, how will they remember the mission?"

"We'll hope for the best that they remember on their own; we can do this with a lot of people to strengthen our chances."

Rogue rubbed the bridges between his eyes, "you really are starting to sound like an idiot king."

"What about you then Rouge? Can't you hide in people's shadows? Can't we just sneak you across?"

"The barrier will prevent me from entering, it's not a joke Gajeel. This thing has been up for many years, outsmarting it won't work."

"Well then I'm out of options, aren't I?"

Rogue walked over to his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, "we'll think of something. I know you want the best for our Element, but don't you think that it would be easier to get our Element out if we train them to be better? If we stop letting them run rampant and start enforcing good onto them?"

"Eh?" Gajeel asked scrunching his eyebrows together, "but being good sucks. It's no fun, if it was then we wouldn't have so many Elements here."

Rogue shrugged, "it's a idea. They think we're bad, but honestly Gajeel we aren't. Our ancestors must have had such an effect on them though that their judgment carried onto us. Maybe if we try to make a change, they'll see it and change their way of thinking."

Gajeel made a certain face and waved his brother away, "fine. I give you permission to do this plan, but as for me. I'm still going to be thinking about a way to conquer those no good Earth Elements." He chuckled evilly.

Rogue sighed and shook his head, wondering why he even bothered.

"I'd like to see you get judgment brother, that would really be something." Rogue said leaving the room finally.

"Whatever." His King replied lying back into his seat.

Judgment, redemption, ha. Gajeel didn't need any of those, he just needed a plan to save his Element. Everyone would be happier, have better lives, live better lives if only they were given the freedom to do so. No matter what, he was going to make that happen and figure it out somehow.

* * *

Levy was organizing all the books in the library for the third time this week, not liking the order. At first she placed it in order of her favorites, but these books weren't only hers to read so then she organized them by titles A-Z. What if people knew the authors only though? She quickly started organizing them again into authors until half way, she thought that title would actually be better. She wasn't mad or sad that she had to reorganize everything again, she actually loved doing this.

While other Earth Elements would go play outside, grow greenery, work on their houses and their homes, Levy found it much more comfortable under the branches of their great savior, the Wisdom Tree, in the library it shielded and protected under its roots. She rather be here more than any other place in their Element, surrounded by all this knowledge and wisdom of the past thousand years of their Element.

"Why is it that whenever I need to find you, you are always here in the same place?"

Levy looked up from organizing her books and quickly stood up, bowing her head lowly.

"Greetings, your majesty." Levy bowed, her hair falling and tickling her cheeks.

Erza waved her off, "what have I told you about that Levy? We're childhood friends, you're the last person who ought to bow to me."

"You're Queen though Erza, not a princess, so I have to show my respects." Levy said dusting herself off.

"Levy, you know everything about me and have seen me at my lowest. You and I both know that under these robes and crown, behind closed walls I'm just like any other Earth Element living here." Erza said walking over.

She pulled her best friend into a warm hug and smiled lightly, "I've missed you."

"We just saw each other yesterday though," Levy giggled returning the hug.

"I think not, try more like a week ago. Have you been sleeping in here again, you reek." Erza said pulling away, turning up her nose.

"Oh, um, I couldn't help myself. There's so much work to be done here, sorry Erza." Levy blushed rubbing her arm.

Erza giggled and shook her head, "never mind. Any work for today is done, I have a errand I want you to do for me."

"Errand? Wouldn't anyone else be more qualified though?"

"Yes, actually anyone could do it, but I want you to because you need to get out more. I hear that the rare princess roses are in bloom now and I'd like for you to go pick some for me."

Levy frowned lightly, "don't they bloom all the way across the Earth Element? Near the barrier? That's a far walk Erza."

"Which will be good for you, now go on. Shoo. I swear Levy if I didn't check up on you, you'd be here twenty-four seven every single day. And when you get back head straight to me then straight home, not back to the library to sleep at for another week. I'll have someone come and finish the... mess you've made here." Erza said looking at all the books scattered on the floor.

"No, they won't know how to organize them!"

"Don't worry about it, now go Levy before I burn this place down."

Levy's eyes widened as she gasped, "you wouldn't."

"I just might, now shoo!"

Levy started grumbling words as she left the great Wisdom Tree, stomping on her way out. She knew Erza was only looking out for her, couldn't she do it in a way though that involved Levy never leaving their savior? She walked back to her little hut, spotting spiderwebs and dust lingering everywhere.

"Wow, I really must have been there for a while." She whispered grabbing her pure white coat.

She placed it on, pulling her hood up before she grabbed a basket of hers and filled it up with food for her journey. The trip to the barrier usually took less than an hour, with the way Levy walked though, it was usually two there and three hours coming back. Erza was trying to kill her. There was no use complaining about it now though; Erza was bound to be stalking the Wisdom Tree out and if she returned without any princess roses, she just might actually burn down their library.

Levy walked out of her home and looked at the beauty of it all. A land completely covered in forest and trees, by nature itself spreading all across their land with each root connecting to each other. There was no separation in this Element, like the trees everyone was connected to each other in the great big circle of life. All ancestors where trees, plants, flowers, living side by side with them. The Earth Elements survived off the nature, and when their time comes, they'll be nutrients for nature to continue growing and live on. It was a peaceful thing to know about your life, knowing that in the end you were going to help your future generation live on.

Levy loved this Element very much, even more than she loved reading and learning. The place was always at peace, at ease, flower petals were always dancing in the winds and the smell of herbs filled the air. The wind started dancing around her hair, lifting up her hood. Levy smiled and inhaled it all, pulling her hood back on as she started heading out into the fields.

Earth Element was a beautiful place; the opposite of this Element had to be Shadow. She didn't know anything about that Element, how they lived, how they looked, anything like that. All she knew was their history from a thousand years ago and that history couldn't be applied to today. Back then, from the books, the Shadow Elements were a ruthless Element. They killed and stole without a care in the world, lied and hurt others. They were an Element not to be messed with. They were a powerful Element that wanted to take control of the world.

The nearest place to them was the Earth Elements so they tried to cease their land first. Big mistake though seeing as how the Earth Element was the largest Element residing on Earthland. Her ancestors had easily beaten them, and instead of banishing or executing them all, they showed pity and gave them a chance to redeem themselves. The barrier was placed up, constantly watched 24/7, only once exit with it being confessions. Confessions of the sins, true repentant. Those who passed could leave the cruel Element, those who didn't were force to stay.

That's just about where all the books ended as. The journey was long and Levy wished she had brought a book or something to read. She rested several times, enjoying her snacks, observing nature, resting her feet in rivers, playing with the animals. At long last she made it to the sacred meadow and sighed out, collapsing on the white stained flowers.

Her hood fell off as she fell and she stared up at the endless blue sky flying above her. She reached out, feeling as if she could grasp the clouds but held nothing. It was still bright and sunny out; Erza must have gotten her really early. Levy could never really tell time locked up in the Wisdom Tree. She guessed that she had about an hour to collect the flowers and make it home before nightfall.

Rolling around, she got up and took in the scenery in front of her. It was clear where the barrier was, a reflection on the flowers appearing on it. If you looked inside the reflection though, deep within, you could see darkness. Black and purple clouds, junk and metal sticking out over the edge. Levy focused back to the white flowers though and started walking across the meadow, spotting a deep and bright red in the distant.

It was a calm walk getting there, the princess flowers taking her breath away as they blew in the wind. Levy knelt down in the dirt and sent a pray to her ancestors for their blessings before she started plucking. One by one, two by two, she sang gently to the wind as her basket slowly became full with flowers.

One flower spoke to her though, one seemed special as Levy picked it. She stopped singing and blinked, glancing at it gently. This one was telling her something, it looked like it knew her as it danced in the wind. Levy smiled lightly and greeted the flower; the flower responded by flying out of her grasps.

"Wait!" Levy cried out chasing after it.

The flower flew with the wind, getting closer and closer to the barrier. Levy ran until there was no more earth to run on, a huge gap appearing between the two elements covered by waters and fluffy clouds of black and white. Levy watched as her ancestor flower flew across the white clouds of Earth Element and into the barrier, descending near the black clouds of Shadow Element before landing on the poisoned ground.

That flower was going to die there, without water, without light, without love, just simply die without helping it's descendents and being used and thanked. It was going to become a flower without purpose. That single thought brought tears to Levy's eyes as she shed them. A boot suddenly appeared beside her ancestor flower though and a hand grabbed the stem.

Levy looked up at the person who picked up the flower and stared at him. A Shadow Element was standing on the other side of the barrier, just looking at the flower, observing it. He hadn't noticed her yet, at least Levy didn't think so. She could escape now without being notice... something kept her there though. She had to know what the Element was going to do to her ancestor.

The Shadow Element looked up and Levy's eyes clashed with red. They were blood red, a dark and deep one that held many regrets and secrets. Levy could see them in his eyes. His face wasn't particularly a handsome one, it was scarred with metal all over while his outfit was simply rags. He wasn't dirty though and despite the eyes and piercings he didn't look menacing.

The two of them standing there looked like complete opposites. The King of the Shadows, dressed in his baggy black pants and grey steel shirt, his dark purple cape lying against the floor as the wind didn't make it flutter. His crown nowhere but inside of his head, huge, metallic, screws hanging loose everywhere.

Then there was the friend of the Queen of the Earth Elements, looking like a fairy. A white coat covering her body, but split open in the middle. She was revealing her sparkling blue hair, her bright brown eyes, her clothes the colors of the forest made from leaves and flowers. She looked gentle, harmless. He looked rugged, harmful. The King blinked at how pathetic the Earth Element looked. The fairy look blinked at how sad the Shadow Element looked.

Finally, after simply staring, words were spoken between the two Elements.

"Excuse me Shadow, but that's my flower." Levy said.

Even her voice was light, innocent. Gajeel had never heard a voice like that before. He was momentarily shocked for a minute before he looked down at the flower.

"I can't give it back, nothing from the Shadow Element can exit without being allowed passage." Gajeel told her.

"I know! I know that, but please listen to my plea. That flower might be one of my ancestors, so please make sure that it doesn't wilt and die in vain. Please give my ancestors a purpose." Levy said, bowing lightly to the Shadow King.

Gajeel blinked, hearing this. "Your grandfather... was a flower?"

Levy giggled lightly before excusing herself, "no, he was an Element, but after his death he became a flower, or my grandmother, or my great grandfather or great grandmother. I know one of them became a flower."

"And you believe that it's this flower?"

Levy smiled and nodded and Gajeel glanced at the flower.

"What can I use this for?"

Levy blinked before touching her lip to think about it, "well we use it for medicine, tea, dye for clothes, perfume to wear."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow, "anything a Shadow Element could use it for?"

Levy hummed, "well it is beautiful. If you admire my ancestor flower for it's lifespan and keep it watered then it'll live out its purpose."

Gajeel hummed next and held the flower to his face, "well it does match my eyes."

Levy started giggling and Gajeel smirked lightly, placing the flower in the hole in his coat. He looked over at Levy and stared, bowing lightly.

"Gajeel." He introduced himself.

"What?" Levy asked taking a step closer.

"I thought you'd want to at least know the name of the man who's going to be taking care of your ancestor. My name is Gajeel Redfox."

Levy gasped lightly, noticing his manners and quickly bowed towards him, her hood covering her head.

"I'm Levy McGarden, pleased to meet your acquaintance and thank you for taking care of my ancestor. From the way people talk about Shadow Elements, I would have thought you'd laugh and crush the flower."

"Can't say much of the Shadow Elements have changed; I'm what you would call different from the rest though. I admire beauty in all things and always find myself coming here, watching the flowers. I've never really been able to touch any and all I get are petals if they end up getting caught by the winds, today must be my lucky day though to actually be able to touch one and it be a complete flower." Gajeel smiled gently.

Levy blushed lightly. "It's called the Princess Scarlet flower."

"Princess Scarlet... shame, I would have named it Princess Levy."

Levy stared at the Shadow Element called Gajeel and with nothing else to really talk about, it was time for the King of Shadows to leave. He turned around, his cape fluttering around him, and looked behind his shoulder.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Levy, I'll try my best to make sure this flower lives its purpose. Good bye."

Levy watched him leave, reaching out her hand and mumbling out a bye seconds after. That was strange. Her first meeting with a Shadow Element and it was actually a peaceful one. She knew the books had been wrong, out of date. Gajeel was a nice Shadow Element, maybe they all were?

No, he had said that some of his people were still the same. Others weren't though, others were different, like Gajeel. Levy looked over to the other side of the barrier, trying to make him out. He was gone though. With that she sighed out lightly and returned to her basket, picking up one more princess flower before heading home.

She had no idea how the Shadow Element she entrusted her ancestor with plastered a wicked and gruesome smirk on his face as soon as he turned around from her, straight up laughing manically once he was out of hearing distance, not believing how easy his plan was. Earth Elements were stupid, stupid! The flower in his chest was going to be ripped off and crushed under his foot as soon as he was home, that poor Element believing that he was actually going to admire and love a flower. A flower!

"What a stupid Element."

Levy smiled to herself lightly as she walked back home, "what a nice Element."


	17. Ender

**BlackLynx17: GAJEEL AND LEVY! OH I HOPE HE DOESN'T HURT HER TOO MUCH! I love their story and how they fall in love, thanks for the reviews! Enjoy.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 17

Ender

* * *

"Alright Gajeel, you've been laughing maniacally every since you've come home. What happened? And what's that over there, a flower? Where did you get a flower from in our Element?" Rogue asked walking over.

It was a bright red color that reminded him of his brother's eyes. Rogue reached for a petal and touched it, soft to the touch. Flowers don't grow in this country, no greenery whatsoever grows here in this Element with all the constant darkness and shadows. It had to have flown in from the barrier... did Gajeel pick it up and take it all the way home? Because that certainly didn't sound like his brother.

"I'm laughing because your brother is a genius! A GENIUS! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW SMART I AM!" Gajeel laughed slamming his hand on the table.

The metallic vase holding the flower up fell off the table due to the vibrations and Rogue acted quickly, catching the flower and vase before it hit the ground; he placed it back on the table away from the edges.

"What?" Rogue asked once he was done rescuing the flower.

"Today I found an Earth Element wandering around the borders and we became friends! So easily too! All I had to do was act like a nice guy and pretended that I cared about a stinking flower! Hahahaha! I'm a genius! It's only going to be a matter of time Rogue before we're on the other side. I can see it now." Gajeel sighed out.

"How does meeting an Earth Element change anything? They've been warned about us Gajeel, he's going to be on his guard against you and besides, one Element alone can't break the barrier." Rogue told him.

"Not a he, a she my young brother Ryos, and with my charming good looks I'll have her eating out the palms of my hands soon and guess what? She's going to want to free me and when she can't do that because of who I am, she's going to come join me instead and then we'll have an Earth Element on our side, finally! With this we'll be able to find out all of their secrets!" Gajeel smirked wickedly at his brother.

Rogue blinked as he started at the new Shadow King. "Gajeel, that sounds like a good idea-"

"Doesn't it?"

"As a Shadow King, but that's not helping our people." Rogue tried to reason.

Gajeel snorted, "how isn't it? They want the Earth Elements, I'm going to get them there. They want freedom, I'm going to give it to them."

"But think of it, think of how they are going to act once they get out of here; it's going to be the same way as in here. If we don't try to change them from the inside, what's to say that the Earth Element's aren't going to push us back in?"

"Have you seen the number of our armies Ryos? There's no way they are going to defeat us in a war."

Rogue took a deep breath and sighed out, "this will not bring peace brother."

"I'm not looking for peace, but for vengeance for our ancestors." Gajeel growled.

"You're acting just like our last king. This is not going to help our people, it's only going to bring more pain and more misery to them and even if you do succeed, you're going to end up just like our previous king. Alone." Rogue said before leaving.

Gajeel growled and slammed his hand on the table, "WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW? I'M KING! NOT YOU!" He screeched.

The flower fell over again and Gajeel glared at it, standing from his seat to reach for it. He held his hand back, getting ready to chuck it at the wall, but stopped momentarily and stared at it. It was just a harmless flower. What did it matter? He would have no problem destroying it, there was no problem leaving it alone either. Gajeel tossed the vase back on the table before he left the room, the lone flower struggling to stand up straight and shine brilliantly in such a dark room.

* * *

Levy returned to her Element when the sun was just about to set. She made perfect timing, not stopping or making detours once as she thought about her Shadow Element. Gajeel. He was different from her Elements, completely different. There was a gentleness she saw in him that was common in her Elements though. Her mind wandered all about him as her feet made the journey back home. When she started seeing her savior and their home she woke up from her daydream and quickened her pace to the Wisdom Tree.

There were two openings to the tree, one right in the middle where the library and history laid and the spiral staircases on the sides of the tree, leading all the way up to the top branches where their queen resided. Levy took the staircase, looking over the beauty of her home as she walked up. She didn't know what looked better, seeing her village when the sun was just rising or when it was just setting. Either way, Levy turned away from the image and continued walking up the stairs, finally seeing the home of their queen.

She greeted the guards by name and with smiles, giving them each a princess flower. The two guards swooned over her and greeted her back, letting Levy in. She found her best friend in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a cup of tea in her hands. There was an extra cup laid out, steaming hot, like she knew a guest was just about to arrive.

"Levy, I wasn't expecting you so soon." Erza said looking over at her.

"Neither was I, but here I am with a basket full of princess flowers." She said gently placing them on the table.

Erza leaned up and reached over to examine the flowers while Levy sat down, taking a sip of the tea. It immediately warmed her up and brought strength to her cold body.

"Good work, this will do nicely for our people. Maybe in a couple more days I'll send a group to pick some more." Erza said.

Levy blinked softly, "actually, I wouldn't mind doing that for you."

The teacup in Erza's hand nearly slipped from her fingers, "WHAT?!"

Levy started giggling, "I actually enjoyed my little walk Erza. You should have seen the field of flowers, it was the most breathtaking thing. It made me realize that I do stay locked up in that library for far too long. So if you ever need me to go there again, don't hesitate to ask." Levy said with a smile.

Erza was dumbstruck, "what happened on your journey?"

Levy was prepared to tell her all about Gajeel, she remembered he was a Shadow Element though. Erza was the Queen of the Earth Elements, she wasn't about to listen to Levy befriending an enemy so lightly. She might actually ban Levy from leaving the village if she knew or learned, for her own good of course; Erza cared about all of them, but Levy had a feeling that Gajeel wasn't like the other Shadow Elements. He was different and until she knew for sure how different, keeping this a secret from Erza seemed like the right thing to do. So instead, Levy told her something else.

"I picked a flower that felt like an ancestor of mine, it made me realize that I wouldn't be able to fulfill my ancestor's destinies if I don't go out and live more." Levy said.

"What a wondrous thing, you know when I was crowned queen the flowers they used as my crown reminded me of the my great grandmother; I felt she was proud of me. Which flower was your ancestor's? I'm sure you'll want to keep it." Erza said looking in the basket.

"I've already used it to its fullest and thanked the Wisdom Tree for reuniting us." Levy said.

Erza smiled fondly and sighed out, looking outside of her window.

"We live in such a perfect Element Levy, you already know this but you never realize how perfect. We're all connected to each other, the past, the future, and we always will be."

"Yeah." Levy sighed out with her before taking another sip of tea.

That was how their day ended.

* * *

Levy mumbled to herself lightly as she watched her footing, trying not to trip on roots or crush any flowers or creatures alike.

"It's not like he's going to be there, he might though. He did mention always coming there to watch the flowers, which I'm not surprised because that place happens to be the best meadow. Still, what do I say if he is there? Oh, nice seeing you again. It doesn't really matter if he knows I only came to meet him, right? Why am I even thinking that he'll be there, he probably won't. I'm probably kidding myself."

This conversation continued up until the moment where she made it to the meadow. Levy paused at this breathtaking sight and just took it all in before entering the meadow, pulling her hood off. She started walking over to the edge of the meadow, where the barrier was placed. He was standing there, or well sitting. It actually looked like he was resting, taking a nap. Levy walked as close as she could, tilting her head as she watched how calm and at ease his face was.

He was sleeping so peacefully, it was almost cute. Levy giggled and suddenly red eyes shined. Gajeel opened his eyes wide and leaned up, looking around. He spotted his target on the other side of the barrier and sighed out lightly, relaxing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Levy bowed lightly.

"Don't mind me, I'm glad you did actually. I was hoping that I'd be able to meet you again, Levy." Gajeel said leaning up.

He sat crossed leg towards her while Levy knelt on the flowers, placing her basket next to her before she took off her coat, folded it up, and placed it inside of the basket. Earth Elements sure were beautiful creatures, Gajeel had to give them that. Too bad their attitude and pride were so stuck up and nasty. This Earth Element though in particular... she just seemed stupid.

"Really? Me too! Well, I mean, I was hoping as well. I've never met a Shadow Element and I'm rather curious about them."

"Curious? What's there to be curious about?" Gajeel asked.

There was nothing to be curious about in the Shadow Element, though you would think that there would be since everyone lived in the shadows. All the crimes though and secrets were all the same and no one really cared about each other, only for themselves.

"Well, yeah? Like what does your country look like? And How does your Element live? What's the ruler like, if there is even a ruler? Do you guys have a savior as well? How accurate is your history? I have tons of questions that I'm dying to ask you." Levy blabbed on.

"I can tell." Gajeel said, chuckling.

Levy blushed and turned away, "did I come on a little too strong?"

"I wouldn't say too strong. Well, let's see, my country is a sad looking place. Everywhere you go you see filth, junk, things Elements didn't want and just simply tossed away just like our residences. Our king lives in at Junk-Yard, it's what we call his castle here because it's the whole thing is made out of junk, and yeah we have a king. He's whatever, not any different than our previous ones. The sun doesn't shine as brightly as it does here, there's always a constant smog covering over our skies. It's not as open and filling, it's all empty just like the people and... lonely."

Gajeel trailed off, his eyes staring at the river running water between them. He's never talked about his Element before, he was their king so of course he loved him Element, but actually describing it out loud made him realize... the place sucked. So that's what this was all about, changing it. To be on the other side, to be free. Gajeel blinked and looked over to Levy's side, to her open world. That was the worst thing about the barrier, being able to see the better life but not reach out and grasp it.

"That sounds... nothing like the books I've read." Levy mumbled softly.

"You look like a reader, not that popular with the other Elements?" Gajeel chuckled.

Levy blushed, "that's not true at all! I just like reading books, I have tons of friends though!"

Gajeel laughed at how flustered she got, "I was joking, teasing. What, they don't have teasing in the Earth Elements?"

Levy pouted and started mumbling words under her breath, making Gajeel grin. Idiot yes, but this little Earth Element was also fun to tease.

"Alright, my turn to ask a question. So, what was all that talk about the flower being your ancestor and junk? You told me your grandfather wasn't part flower, so?" Gajeel asked.

Of course he couldn't just outright ask her about the barrier; he had to win her favor first. Playing friend would be easy, this girl wasn't that annoying to say in the least. Playing buddy buddy for a month or two would make it all worth it in the end. Levy stopped her brooding and turned her attention back to Gajeel.

"Earth Elements are very in tune to the nature around us," she said plucking a flower from right next to her, "we believe everything is connected to each, which it is. Our savior, a great tree that holds the wisdom of all the Elements, has roots that spread all across the world, connecting each and every little thing including this flower. Well, not so much now that I plucked it," Levy giggled, "but you get the point. Anyways when we die, we're buried underneath our Wisdom Tree and provide nutrients for the tree to grow bigger and stronger, you could say we become one with the tree and connect with every little thing. It's sort of a circle of life thing, we live, we die, we become food for our Element, and then we survive thanks to our ancestors."

"So you're using up your ancestors, eating them and wearing them and junk?" Gajeel asked, letting his shadow king-ness out as he wondered how stupid that was.

Levy... blinked, "I suppose so, but it's different. They are giving us the chance to live, just like I will be able to do for my Element. We don't think of it as eating them and wearing them and junk," Levy teased, "but how we're fulfilling their purpose of helping us continue on our lineage. At least, that's just how the Earth Elements are. The Water, Ice, Light, Fire, pretty much all the rest of the Elements don't think like how we do, at least I don't think. I've read in books that they have saviors, but it doesn't really explain more about that. Anyways, my turn! Tell me about your savior!"

Savior? "What's a savior?" Gajeel asked.

Levy's eyes scrunched together, "you don't know what a savior is?"

"I know the meaning of the word, I don't know what you're talking about though."

"Savior, the being you worship and owe your entire Element to. The Earth Element's is a Wisdom Tree, our history states that we were once a group of traveling Element-less people searching for a safe haven. The leader Scarlet, our queen's great ancestor, had a dream about our savior and was led there. The tree offered our people salvation and we build our Element on it, becoming the Earth Elements we are today. It all started with our savior. I've read that you Shadow Elements have a savior, it was... it was..."

"I think you're talking about the Ender." Gajeel said.

Levy was interrupted and she blinked, the flower falling out of her fingers. "What?"

"Ender, not savior. He's just an endless shadow void hidden in the darkest place of our Element, nothing to be worshiped over, but cursed."

"Yeah, the shadow void, but what do you mean by cursed? Didn't he save your people?"

Gajeel laughed hard, "save? My people? Have you seen us? Do you know where we live? This is hardly saving, this is a prison! Our 'SAVIOR' did nothing but damn us to this land. Our 'savior' abandoned us once the Earth Elements made this barrier. Our 'savior' has done nothing for us, at all. He can hardly be called a savior, Ender is more like it. There is nothing that he has done that we should worship him for." Gajeel barked out ugly.

Levy flinched back a little and Gajeel cursed himself, trying to calm down. He needed to keep himself in check, in control, but he couldn't help but explode while she was trying to make his Ender seem like a saint. Levy gulped a little and looked over at Gajeel, regretting the question she asked seeing the depressed look on her friend's face.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Gajeel shrugged and looked away, "same."

A small smile graced her presence, "so, your... Ender. How did he make up the Shadow Elements?"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her, thinking she'd know better than to ask another question about it.

"My turn to ask a question Princess," Gajeel said unfolding his legs.

"Princess?" Levy asked with an amused face.

Gajeel shrugged, "so, what happens to the Shadow Elements that get outside of the barrier?"

"You mean the ones who are saved?" Levy asked, "well after they prove their repent they are brought into an audience with our queen. After she examines them she picks the family the saved are going to be with until he or she can prove their worth, then they are free to live their life anyway they want in our land." Levy said.

"And there's never been... ones who go crazy?" Gajeel asked.

Because he knew that acting all goody goody with this Earth Element here was driving him nuts.

"No, they mostly cry though. When you pass the barrier, and this is what my friend told me, the Shadow Element's spirits break. There's so much they hold onto while they are over there, so much pain, hurt, angst, secrets, but here you can start anew and that kind of relief is breathtaking. They are so thankful, so happy, tears cannot help but fall from there eyes as they learn they are rescued." Levy explained.

Gajeel blinked... letting all of that sink in.

"Now that's two questions you've asked, so I get two back. The Ender, how did he end up making the Shadow Elements?" Levy asked.

Gajeel opened his mouth to answer, but didn't say anything. He noticed his shadow moving, he was standing completely still though. An eye suddenly appeared in his shadow along with a mouth; it started talking.

_Where are you Gajeel? You need to come back immediately._

His brother's voice echoed in his head. Gajeel sighed as he stood up, dusting himself off a bit.

"I need to go." He told his new 'friend'.

"What? Unfair, what about my questions?" Levy pouted.

"I guess you'll have to come back tomorrow and ask me them." Gajeel smirked.

Levy blushed lightly and stood up, dusting herself off too. She picked up her basket and stared right at Gajeel, hands on her hips as she pouted lightly.

"Bright and early, don't keep me waiting."

Gajeel chuckled, "let's not forget who was here first today."

"Bye Gajeel, safe journey."

"Right back at you Princess."


	18. You vs Me

**BlackLynx17: GAJEEL AND LEVY! OH I HOPE HE DOESN'T HURT HER TOO MUCH! I love their story and how they fall in love, thanks for the reviews! Enjoy.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 18

You vs. Me

* * *

Gajeel was breathless when he got back to his Junk-Yard, panting as he pushed the doors open until he found his brother in the throne room. He was pacing back and forth and Gajeel took a breath before calling over to him.

"Ryos! What's the matter? You interrupted me during my mission and-"

"The previous king was spotted in the city."

Gajeel's voice froze as he eyes narrowed, "are you serious?"

"Yes, our guards have confirmed it."

"He's supposed to be banished to The Void though, what is he doing here in my city?!"

"I don't know! I told the guards to capture him, but it seems he's vanish. I received a report saying he's been spotted heading back to The Void though just before you came in so I called off the capture."

"Oh... so that was it?"

"Isn't it strange why our king would come out into the open after so many years?!"

"Ex-king, let's not forget, and who cares as long as he doesn't reveal himself again like today. Banishment means exactly that, it's just hard to banish someone when our land is so limited." Gajeel sighed running a hand down his face.

"I know you banished him because you didn't want our Element to kill him-"

"Whatever."

"But don't you think... he was our king for six years, don't you think he'll have some information about well... the Earth Elements."

"If he did he would have brought down the barrier while he was in charge, obviously he didn't though since it's still there." Gajeel said making his way over to the table.

The flower was standing there, wilting a little. Gajeel furrowed his eyebrows as he moved the flower over a little, towards the small sunlight leaking through the window.

"Still Gajeel, he might know something. It only took six years for him to get overthrown, it might be even less for you and the next king might not be so merciful as banishment. You might actually get-"

"Have you not heard of my plans?! I've made contact with an Earth Element and it has only been weeks since my enthronement!"

"Your Element might not know about the barrier-"

"She does! I've learned of it, she was a bookworm back in her Element. She already knows so much about us it'd be stupid if she didn't know anything about what separates us. It's already been two days and she thinks of me as her closest friend if you believe it or not. It won't take much longer brother... by the way, how's your plan going?"

Rogue clenched his fist and looked the other way, "fine."

Gajeel chuckled lightly, "amuse me brother and I shall tell you something amusing in return." He said walking to his throne.

"It changes you, seeing how many people that want to be saved compared to those who don't. I'm hearing their stories Gajeel, the ones who want to repent, and they're so vile, so dark, I don't know how to help them. If the Earth Elements actually wanted us to get better then they would be helping us and not keeping us locked here."

"It just proves that they don't want to help us get better." Gajeel mumbled.

"There's so many who want to change Gajeel, I think I might propose that idea to the Earth Elements next time someone tries to redeem themselves."

"Hahahahaha!" Gajeel barked in laughter before wiping tears from his eyes, "Rogue, Ryos, brother, I love you, but that idea is so ludicrous... sigh, I did give you free rein to do whatever you so wished to help this country though, so I'll allow it under the name of the king. Just don't let any other Shadow Elements know or else I'll have to rescue you." Gajeel smirked.

"I can take care of myself brother, without your help. I swear your cockiness knows no bounds."

"Let's make a bet then to see who will save our people first. If you win I'll give you the title of king and be your prince." Gajeel smirked at him.

"King? No thanks, I don't care much about titles. Besides, once our people are saved there will be no Shadow Country to be king over." Rogue smirked right back, pulling up a chair of his own.

Gajeel chuckled lightly and pushed his brother a little.

"So, the Earth Element. I asked her about what happens to Shadow Elements who get saved, I wanted to know if any of them turned evil and try to save the rest of us still here, and you know how she responded?"

Rogue nodded his head and hummed.

"She said, they mostly cry. I didn't know how to respond or even think about that. Apparently their spirits break or something and they're all happy and none of them try to do evil things again, like they've really changed."

"Well just think about it Gajeel, image living here your whole life. Right? This is all you know about, stealing, hurting, deceiving, and killing people to survive. Now when you go to a place where you don't have to do that, where you don't have to sleep with your eyes open, where people actually care for you... I imagine that it's a huge relief. I can only imagine how they feel."

"What do you have to steal and fight over Rogue? I give you everything." Gajeel said, trying to understand.

"There's something... off with me Gajeel. Just like there's something off with the rest of our Elements, our shadows are different. You know... if you've ever seen someone saved then you'll notice that there shadows change, it escapes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think when we're saved that the evil part of us stays behind. That's why our people keep getting badder and why when they leave they don't do anything horrible on the other side. This is why our Element keeps getting darker."

"Rogue, that sounds completely ridiculous." Gajeel said.

"It sounds unknown, you never notice before because all you focused on was being king and once you became king you're only focusing on this Earth Element now, but it happens."

Gajeel stood up and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "You're worrying too much Ryos, this plan of yours has been stressing you out. Why don't you rest for a few days and leave things up to your big brother? I won't fail you."

Before Rogue to rise a complaint, his brother left the room leaving him alone. Rogue sighed out loudly and stood up as well, walking over to the lone flower. Flowers didn't bloom in the Shadow Element, this was the only one of its kind here. Such a beautiful thing.

"I wonder why my brother keeps you?" Rogue asked the flower.

It was just his imagination that he saw the flower lean up a little bit. This plan of his, it sounded genius enough, there was something just wrong about it though and that was exactly what the difference between Rogue and his people. They didn't seem to care about the wrong while Rogue himself had a conscious. It talked to him, tried to convince him of things, and lately it's been getting louder.

Rogue suddenly found himself calm though when he looked at the lonely princess flower, trying it's best to survive against all odds in such a dark place.

* * *

Levy woke up, seeing a strange room. She hummed lightly and rolled around in her bed, flinching when she saw her best friend lying on the bed right next to her. Levy giggled seeing her drooling and reached out a hand, wiping it off with a finger. Her giggles made the queen moan and flutter her eyes open.

"Good morning sunshine." Levy giggled.

"Good morning bookworm." Erza giggled back, scooting over closer to Levy.

She snuggled right into her chest and sighed out, "you know I was doing a late night walk through the village and I found you passed out under a table in the Wisdom Tree. Now how did you get under there?" She asked.

Levy moaned getting used to the light, "I remember reading, then wanting to lie down, maybe that's what happened."

Erza giggled again and looked up at Levy, brushing some of her hair away from her face.

"I think I can ditch some of my queen duties today, would you like to have a picnic together?"

Levy would love that... she remembered Gajeel though and how he left her questions unanswered. With a sad smile she shook her head leaving Erza a little confused.

"I can't today Erza, I would love to tomorrow though, please." Levy smiled.

Erza stared at her for a second before leaning back in the bed, lying on the pillow.

"We've collected enough princess flowers, I mean more than enough for just two days since there blooming. Why do you keep going to that place?"

"I've only been there twice Erza, why the sudden urgency?" Levy asked.

"That place is so close to the barrier, you can practically look over there. There hasn't been... been anyone there, has there? On the other side?"

Levy's eyes widened a bit, "Erza?" She asked.

Her friend's eyes turned hard though as she stared at her, "be honest Levy. Has there been sighting of Shadow Elements over there?"

Levy frowned, "Erza, why are you talking like you've made contact with them over there?"

Erza's eyes widened slightly before she flew out of bed, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her. Now that was strange. Levy leaned up and got out of the bed as well, slowly walking to the door. She knocked gently and leaned against it.

"Erza? Is everything okay?"

"I don't want you going over there anymore Levy, is that understood?" Her queen's voice ordered from the other side.

Levy hummed and nodded although she couldn't see it, "okay Erza. Can you come out now and stop acting scary?"

The door slowly opened and Erza peeked out, frowning a little bit. Her eyes seemed like they were in a far off place that had Levy remembering a dark time in their past. She reached out to stroke her friend's cheek and Erza looked down.

"I just don't want anything happening to you Levy, you are all I have in the world." She said.

"I understand Erza, so I promise. Today I'll stay in the library with a book to my face, of course after I visit my neighborhood's children and check on the new saved Elements."

Erza nodded her head as she listed off the things she needed to do, "come find me right after. Maybe we can have a midnight picnic instead? The moon blossoms are sure to be in bloom now."

"Okay Erza, it's a date." Levy giggled.

Erza finally came out of the room and smiled, giving her cheeks a light slap.

"Right! Until then, it's time to tend to my people and do my queenly things! Gosh, if I didn't think there wasn't anyone else who was strong enough to protect our Element then I'd be right along side of you, messing around." Erza said walking towards her closet.

"What? I'm not messing around! I'm actually doing important business!" Levy whined.

"Sure, sure, be safe on your journey Levy and may the Wisdom Tree be your guide."

"And don't say that line to me in such a monotone voice!" Levy yelled throwing a pillow at Erza.

Erza started laughing and threw it right back, winking at Levy. Levy smiled back, thankful that her old Erza was back. Those eyes though, it's been a year since she's seen her them so empty and dark... just like the Shadow Elements. It took forever for her to return back to her former glory... Levy's eyes furrowed though.

Erza was talking about seeing a Shadow Element at the meadow, almost like... she's met one before. It's uncommon for the queen to meet Shadow Elements, she's always there when they are saved, but how did she know about that spot near the barrier? So many questions were running through Levy's mind, as she stared outside at the sun though she knew she had to hurry up and leave on her journey or else risk getting there too late and getting back even later.

* * *

"Gajeel? Gajeel!"

Gajeel's eyes opened hearing his name being called. He looked down from the pile of junk he was resting on and saw his own savior walking near the edge calling out his name. Yawning and stretching out wide, he rolled over and jumped down the pile of junk to make himself known. Levy squeaked a little when he jumped out of nowhere and snapped her fingers.

"Darn, and I thought I was actually going to beat you this time." She said.

Gajeel shrugged, "maybe next time."

"Anyways, before we get down to business, I made you something!" Levy cheered holding out her basket.

Gajeel watched curiously as she opened it up and pulled out this square shaped object covered in greens. She walked over to the edge and made the motion to toss it to him before she finally did. Gajeel reached out and caught it with ease, looking it over. He sniffed it once; it smelled eatable.

"It's a sandwich made from berries grown in my village; it's my auntie's secret recipe." Levy winked.

Gajeel made the motion to bite into it, Levy squealed out though.

"Wait! You're supposed to take the wrapping off!"

"Wrapping?" Gajeel asked pulling it back.

Levy giggled, "yes the wrapping, the leafy parts. It's just to keep it fresh." She explained.

"How was I supposed to know that? All you guys eat are leaves and berries." Gajeel mumbled feeling

stupid, ripping off the leaf.

It looked like a sandwich now and smelled ten times better. Gajeel took another whiff before he shoved the whole thing in his mouth, chewing it three times before swallowing.

"Pretty good, you made that for me?" He asked licking the side of his lips.

Levy nodded, "yup, I'm glad you liked it. I was wondering if your Element even ate our food, but it looks like you do! I'm glad."

"Why'd you do that for me Princess?" Gajeel asked.

Levy pouted at the nickname, "because we're friends and that's what friends do. And enough with that nickname, I'm not a princess."

It always brought a smile to Gajeel's face when he heard her say that, to know she actually believed that. It made him feel like a great actor and even greater king. Levy mistook that smile for happiness like she usually does for all his others.

"Next time I'll be sure to bring you a junk-witch." He told her.

Levy's noise twisted up, "junk-witch?"

"It's like your sandwich, but instead of berries it's filled with all sorts of junk we find just lying on the ground."

Levy laughed awkwardly a little, "oh, that sounds delicious, too bad you can't pass things over the barrier on your side, darn, ha ha ha." She said even more awkwardly that had Gajeel dying with laughter.

"Alright princess, you had questions didn't you? You look like you're about to explode if you don't ask them, so go right ahead." Gajeel laughed.

Levy stuck her tongue at him, but asked away, "we left off at your sa-Ender. So, how did he create the Shadow Elements?"

Gajeel racked his brain around as he tried to remember. He learned about this when he became king, had to meet their Ender for some reason to make it official and was introduce to their history or something boring and useless. That history would be history when Gajeel made a new future.

"It was something about a curse that was spreading over the lands, a sleeping one I believe. Whatever, anyways people were falling asleep and never waking up and that's what the curse was. It was all over the land, an evil spirit or God was doing it, maybe even our Ender was the one putting people to sleep, but our history makes him sound like a hero taking all the sleeping Elements and bringing them to his realm. There were thousands of people under the curse and because of the Ender they all broke the curse and woke up here. My ancestors were so happy that they decided to live beside the Ender, some in fear of falling back under the curse while others just wanted to repay the Ender and show their gratitude.

"Either way we became the Shadow Elements because in order to wake up the Ender had to give us some sort of power to break the curse ourselves and when we woke up we could control our shadows. I'm not sure how we all turned out so screwed up and evil, it's written though that our current leader at that time was a bastard along with everyone that followed after. Soon we became too huge and started committing horrible acts that Elements didn't find so entertaining, so that was when your Element interfered and locked us up in here."

Levy nodded, listening, "it was for your own good. Your ancestors were running rampage, no Element was safe; us Earth Elements were getting the worse of it. Your powers were too strong, so our King had to borrow power from the Wisdom Tree to seal you."

That struck a nerve with Gajeel, "you didn't have to lock us up like animals though."

"What other choice did we have? Your Element obviously didn't listen to reason."

"That was that generation though! What about the future ones? What about the children who are born in these shadows? Did they not deserve a clean slate? Do they have to carry their parents sins?"

"I admit the barrier has its flaws, but the Shadow Elements were dangerous and so many people died Gajeel. Please stop getting so upset."

"Why shouldn't I?! You're just standing there, bragging about your freedom and showing off all the wonders you have while we're rotting away in here! You're lecturing me about rights when you have no idea what any of us Shadow Elements go through living in the shadows! You have no idea what I've had to live through when I was younger, what I had to do to keep my brother and I alive, fed and strong. Don't just stand there telling me I deserved it all Levy!"

"Gajeel, I didn't mea-"

"Of course you would have no idea, little miss Princess. I bet you never had a single trouble in your life, huh? You all must have the best luck in the world not to be born into an Element like this." Gajeel scoffed then finally had enough of this.

He stalked over, pissed off more than he's ever been, ignoring the cries of his name being called behind him. He was going to regret it, for sure he was going to regret yelling at the Earth Element like that, but for right now he was pissed off and just didn't give a care.

Levy sighed out when she didn't see him anymore, kicking herself. Why couldn't she learn to keep her mouth shut sometimes? She growled as she stood up, grabbing her basket in a huff before stomping back home. She wasn't even able to tell him that this was probably going to be their last meeting for a while... like he would want to see her again after what she said. Levy stopped walking and found tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm sorry Gajeel," She sniffed rubbing them away.

It was a horrible thing and now she couldn't even be here if he ever decided to come back and apologize. Maybe it was best this way; the Shadow Elements were dangerous and were to be kept away from. Gajeel was different though, Gajeel was her friend.

Keyword: was.

Levy took one last look behind her before sighing out, praying to the great Wisdom Tree that its roots grew in the Shadow Element territory so Gajeel could know how truly sorry she was.


	19. Princess

**BlackLynx17: I feel like I'm really getting Gajeel's character right and I'm super proud of myself for doing that! I'm not sure about Levy though because I don't really like her so I don't observe her as much in the animes and mangas, but I feel confident with Gajeel. Thanks for my previous reviews everyone.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 19

Princess

* * *

Just like that a month passed. It took Gajeel a week before he realized how much his plan was going to take a toll if he didn't go back. He came everyday those three weeks later, just waiting and resting until she showed up. She never showed up; he messed up big time.

"I mean I know I yelled, I didn't yell full blown though like I do here. I had some control, I didn't even break anything or curse. So why the hell isn't she showing up?!" Gajeel roared slamming his hand on the table.

The princess flower was about to fall over, Rouge reached out though already prepared and placed it back up.

"I'm not sure brother, sounds to me like she was the blame for the argument."

"Exactly!" Gajeel yelled.

"But she controls the key to the barrier and ultimately controls you, so you should make her feel always right."

Gajeel looked over and glared, "shut up."

Rogue chuckled and spun the vase around, "such a stubborn flower you have brought over here. It clings to life even in this environment, polluted waters, barely any sunlight."

Gajeel glanced over at it and slammed his hand on the table again. Rogue caught the falling flower before it damaged itself once again.

"Get rid of that thing, it stinks." He mumbled.

"Don't be so sour, it's the best smelling thing here, including you."

Gajeel rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject. "Any reports on our previous king being seen?"

"Not since the last sighting. I wonder why he finally came out or well decided to come out."

"Maybe he was getting tired staring at our bottomless void of a savior, I know I was the first two minutes I saw it."

"Gajeel, I'm being serious. It's strange."

"It's not the current problem at hand though, besides he's harmless. Nothing I won't be able to take care of, or our people for that matter. I did him a favor with banishment, if he wants to go get himself killed though then let him." Gajeel told him.

Rogue sighed out, never being able to get through to his brother. One of these days though, it was bound to happen.

"Well my project has been going fine so far, none saved yet, but I'm getting ready to propose my plan to the Earth Elements. Hopefully the audience I get has a heart."

"And I really thought that Princess had a crush on me, honestly. Apparently not since she's been ditching me for a month."

"How do you get the Earth Element liking you from my story?" Rogue asked, genuinely amazed.

"I don't know, but it just happened."

"Why do you even care if she likes you?"

"Because it makes her coming to me so much easier; if she loves me she has a reason to be by my side."

"Isn't that a double-edge sword though if you fall for her?"

Gajeel snorted, "shut up Rogue. Like I could ever love the Element who put us through this."

Rogue stared at his brother to see if he was lying or withholding any kind of truth, there was nothing he noticed though.

"Are you going to continue trying?" He asked.

"Of course, not until our people are saved from these shadows."

"I wish you luck then brother. In the end if you are overthrown, I'll be sure to be right by your side through banishment."

Gajeel was touched, "what are you talking about? You're going to be the one to overthrow me and keep me as your 'slave'." Gajeel winked.

Rogue laughed at that one and ruffled his brother's hair, making the older one smirk at him. Sure he talked a lot about doing all of this for his Element, but everything was always for his younger brother. Protecting him was his job, making him survive and live on was his purpose in life after their parents bit the dust. Rogue was the one Gajeel truly cared about, although he never showed it, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for him.

Which is why he found himself the very next day in the very same spot as the other days. This day was a little bit special though. When Gajeel arrived at the spot, he spotted a familiar basket there. Upon walking up close, he recognized it that it was indeed the Princess's. He looked up for her, not spotting her anywhere though.

"PRINCESS!" He called out.

The wind was his only answer. Maybe it was left for him yesterday, he did leave rather early the other day. Gajeel grumbled as he sat crossed leg on the floor, examining the basket. He opened it up and spotted nearly a dozen leafy wrapped sandwiches. They were all obviously for him since they were on this side of the barrier. These were a lot though for one person.

Gajeel's stomach growled at that moment as he picked one up, remembering the juicy taste from the berries. Without even bothering to pull the leafy wrapper off he simply shoved it all in his mouth.

"You're supposed to take the wrapper off, you know."

Gajeel looked up and spotted an Earth Element wearing a wooden mask. Gajeel gulped and blinked, clearing his voice.

"Princess?"

The masked, and hooded, Earth Element nodded once before looking away, "it's a peace offering."

"What's that on your face?"

"I thought you might be mad seeing my face, so I'm wearing a mask."

"You look stupid, take it off."

"Hey!" Levy yelled turning back to him.

She was momentarily frozen by the deep gaze he was casting at her, his voice softly telling her, "take it off."

Levy's hands shook as she reached for her mask and took it off. She looked exactly like how Gajeel remembered and he sighed out in relief. Wait, what? Why?

"Hi Gajeel." She squeaked.

"Hey Levy." Gajeel mumbled looking the other way, finding his cheeks uncomfortably warm.

"..."

"..."

"I packed extra sandwiches for your brother... I didn't know you had one." She said trying to make small talk.

"Only family I have left in our Element." Gajeel said pulling out another sandwich.

Levy hummed and nodded her head as she settled in the flowers, "I know how that feels."

"Younger brother?" Gajeel asked.

Levy shook her head.

"Sister?"

"Orphan." She answered.

Gajeel blinked, his sandwich suddenly tasting less delicious.

"Everything happens for a reason here, it was my father's time when it was his time. My mother couldn't go on without him, lost her will to live. I made sure they were buried together so they could reincarnate together."

Levy curled up, bringing her knees to her chest as she rested her chin on them. For the first time since they've met, the Earth Element made a face that seemed like she belonged in the Shadow Element. Gajeel didn't like seeing such an expression on her face.

"How old?"

"Seven, old enough to know that death means forever, not old enough to understand the circle of life. I'm better now though, my best friend made sure to take care of me. I guess I would be the younger sister in our relationship, she protects me like how you protect your brother." Levy said, smiling lightly as she thought of Erza.

Erza Scarlet, her queen, her best friend, her sister. Levy's dedicated the last month all to her, being there, fulfilling her role again. She didn't have to stay away for that long, she was scared of Gajeel though, of him not showing, of him hating her. It was finally until the Wisdom Tree showed her a dream about Gajeel that she decided to come visit. Good thing too, it seems like he has forgiven her. Now if only Erza could when she found out that Levy was going behind her back and lying.

"I was six, my brother three. Don't remember what happened to our mother, our father was killed right in front of me. Rogue was too young to remember, I simply grabbed him and ran for our lives. Tried my best to make us survive, around eight we were picked up by our previous king and taken under his wing. Until this day, I still don't know why out of all the children in our country that he saved me and Rogue." Gajeel mumbled, going into his passed.

His king wasn't exactly merciful, he wasn't a killer though. Mostly kept to himself and ignore the people outside of his walls as he tried to make life better for them. One day though he appeared in front of Gajeel and Rogue, offering a hand. It was the only reason why Gajeel offered him mercy when he overthrew him. Once upon a time he had saved his life, Gajeel was simply returning it back when he was banished.

"Maybe he saw something good in you." Levy whispered.

Gajeel blinked and looked over at her, "do you see something good in me Levy?"

Honestly, Gajeel wanted to know. If there was something good in him, if there was something that could be saved. He didn't know why he wanted to know, it was too late to pull back his question though.

"Yes, I see something worth saving Gajeel. I'm surprised you haven't been saved yet, you're such a kind Shadow Element. Have you tried?"

Gajeel almost took her word for it until he remembered the things she didn't know. How he was king, how he was lying to her, using her, going to toss her away once he got what he wanted. Gajeel blinked, feeling something flicker in his chest.

"Gajeel?"

"No, I've never tried. I could never leave my brother."

"Oh, so you think your brother can't be saved?"

Just the opposite. Gajeel was the one who couldn't be saved. Rogue... Gajeel knew he could. He could leave, be an Earth Element. There was nothing truly unforgivable that he's done, Gajeel was the one with the stained hands, he made sure of it. Rogue hadn't been saved though... because of him. Because he wanted to stay with Gajeel and until the day Rogue felt like being rescued, Gajeel was going to do his best to make this home of theirs as easy and comfortable as possible.

Levy's heart started pounding as she stared into his eyes, suddenly getting reminded about the look Erza gave her nearly a month ago. That blank stare, their minds wandering off to a darker place. She didn't know what she was thinking, she wanted him to stop thinking that way though and take his attention back. No, that wasn't really what she wanted, that expression... somehow it was worse than Erza's. It hurt more, it brought tears to her eyes. Levy's eyes stung as she stood up and started walking over, wanting nothing more to hug Gajeel in her arms and comfort him.

Gajeel woke up when he heard her squeal as she fell off the edge, landing in the river that connected the two of them. He saw her walking towards him and completely forgot about everything.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He roared at her running over.

Water splashed as he jumped into the river and ran towards her. His roar sent Levy in such a shock, she fell back into the river as her legs shivered in fear.

"YOU IDIOT! IF YOU CROSS THE BARRIER YOU CAN'T COME BACK! YOU'LL DIE HERE ONCE PEOPLE FIND OUR YOU'RE AN EARTH ELEMENT!"

"You, you, you were so sad though." Levy whimpered, water running down her face and arms.

Gajeel started breathing heavily, cursing as he ran his hand through his wet hair.

"You're a dumb ass, oh my God you're such a dumb ass." Gajeel started chuckling lightly.

Levy blinked as she looked over at him, a small smile forming as she saw the carefree look in his eyes appear again.

"You were going to risk your life, your life, for- for? For what? What were you planning on doing?"

Levy looked down as she stood up, squeezing the water out of her skirt.

"Comfort you, probably with a hug." She whispered.

Gajeel's laughter stopped mid-laugh, his eyes widening slightly. He looked over, seeing her trying to climb back up the little ledge only to slip down and fall again.

"Why? We've only met twice, you barely know me."

"Of course I know you," Levy said trying to climb up again.

"You're Gajeel. You have a little brother named Rogue who you love very much, you like taking naps and you love my sandwiches. You live in a place called Junk-Yard and lost your parents at a young age, like me. You have a strange sense of humor and may look rough, but you're actually really nice. You also really love your Element, just like me. Sure when you get angry, boy do you get hot-headed, but judging how you met me today and acted like nothing happened you either have a bad memory or you forgive easily and don't sweat the small stuff." She finished finally making it back to her her land.

Gajeel stared at her as she shook the water out of her hair, shivering as she ran her hand down her arm, placing her coat back on and tightening it around her. Finally, when she looked back at him, Gajeel simply looked away and got out of the river on his side.

"I didn't forget." He mumbled shaking the water of his hair.

Levy giggled getting reminded of a dog as he did that, "then you forgive easily, in which I'm sorry about before. I just remembered that I haven't apologized."

"I prefer the words don't sweat the small stuff, doesn't make me seem as weak." Gajeel mumbled.

"Hey... Gajeel?" Levy called.

Gajeel nodded, motioning to her that he was paying attention although he wasn't looking.

"Thanks. It's not that I don't trust that you'd protect me... I could have made your life a lot more harder if I would have crossed. I often get lost in the moment and... you really saved me. Thank you Gajeel." Levy smiled.

For some reason, that smile was innocent. It reminded him of Rogue's little five year old smile, whenever he would present him with food. Rogue would always look like it was the best thing in the world even though it was only scraps and he'd smile and thank him just like that.

"You're welcome, Levy." Gajeel smiled right back, unlike him at all.

Levy blushed lightly and let those small butterfly feelings spread through her. Suddenly, she wanted for Gajeel to know about her as well and wondered if he did.

"Levy McGarden, 17 years old, my favorite season is summer, my favorite food is my auntie's berry sandwiches, favorite color a soft green and blue, favorite flower-"

"What are you doing?" Gajeel chuckled lightly.

"Telling you about myself." Levy said simply.

"I already know everything I need to know about you, Levy, Earth Element, hell of stupid, bookworm." Gajeel said simply as that.

Levy face turned redder, but not because of the butterflies, "hey you big jerk! That's mean!"

"Well add mean to the list of things you know about me." Gajeel smirked.

Levy pouted and stuck her tongue out at him which had Gajeel chuckle. The two of them sat across from each other, soaking wet, laughing and talking about nothing but at the same time something until Levy simply got too cold. She shivered and pulled her coat closer to her, Gajeel noticing.

"I need to go." He said.

"What? Really?" She asked tilting her head.

He nodded, "these wet clothes aren't suiting me very much."

Levy giggled a little, "Um... I won't be able to come tomorrow, maybe the next day though. My friend has been very interested in my life lately, so its been a little hard trying to visit as you can tell."

"Your, friend?"

"Friend, sister, guardian, she's the one who took care of me after my parents died. She's my older sister you could say. She's always been, but for the past month she's been making a lot of time for me and its just... nice being able to be with her." Levy smiled to herself.

Gajeel understood, his eyebrows scrunching together a little as he didn't understand one part.

"Why would she care you're out here?"

"Well she knows how close this meadow is to the barrier and she's worried about me being out here alone. You know that Shadow Elements aren't exactly loved over here." Levy shrugged.

"You're... keeping her from me? Isn't she your sister?" Gajeel asked.

Gajeel kept nothing from Rogue, at all. Even his dreams, nightmares, secrets, stress, everything.

"Well I sort of have to, she's the queen here and she sort of enforces the barrier law. If she found out that we were talking she'd make me, or one of our other bookworms, come up with a way to make the barrier completely black instead of clear so we couldn't see each other, or maybe cut off the sounds so we couldn't hear each other."

Gajeel froze.

"Don't worry though, she has no idea about this." Levy said waving her hand in the air.

She stood up and wrapped her coat a little closer, happy that Gajeel suggested that they leave. The cold was really started to bother her.

"I'll see you around in two days Gajeel, take care, and don't forget to share those sandwiches with your brother." Levy warned before bowing and leaving.

Gajeel was frozen. He stayed blank, silent, out of it until he returned back home to his Element, back into his Junk-Yard, into his throne room. There it was silent for about ten seconds before his laughter echoed through the room, and soon the halls of the castle. This was driving him crazy, this was crazy. Too easy, finally his Ender was actually trying to act as a savior! Why now was he trying to make up to their people?!

Rogue found his brother in hysterics several minutes later, the room a mess, pictures once on the walls thrown on the ground, his throne in shatters, leafy food scattered on the floor, walking just in time to see his King knock everything off the table then flip it over, the princess flower's vase shattering on the ground.

"GAJEEL!" Rogue yelled running towards him.

"TOO EASY! IT'S ALL TOO EASY ROGUE!" Gajeel laughed kicking the chair into pieces.

Rogue grabbed his brother's shadow and paralyzed him, freezing him with his foot in the air before making him stand up normal. What he couldn't stop was his laughter though.

"Gajeel!" Rogue yelled slapping his face.

That seemed to snap him out of it.

"The girl." He said.

"What about the Earth Element?" Rogue asked.

"She's the queen's younger sister!"

Rogue's shadow slipped, letting Gajeel regain power over himself. He fell to his knees in laughter, shaking his head side to side and pounding on the ground.

"She also knows about the barrier! The queen's sister and barrier expert! It's all so easy! And I fucking let it all slip by!" Gajeel yelled roared out, slamming his fists so hard against the ground that he cracked the metal.

"I fucking saved her! She was about to run over and I stopped her! Fucking idiot! Idiot! Idiot! IDIOT!" Gajeel yelled crushing the metal more and more until his fists started bleeding.

"Gajeel-"

"WHY DID I DO SUCH A THING?! WHY?! WHY?! I BARELY KNOW HER! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!"

Rogue watched his brother and let him get all his anger and frustration out. Finally, he sighed out and just stayed there on the ground, defeated.

"I'm doing my best here Rogue." Gajeel sighed out.

"I know Gajeel, I know." Rogue said sitting down next to him.

"I don't why this is happening, I don't know why I stopped her. At the moment though, I just couldn't seem to want to harm her."

Rogue blinked, finally seeing some humanity in his brother for the first time in forever.

"It's not going to happen again though, I won't forget about my people, about you. I won't lose myself again." Gajeel promised himself.

"Gajeel... there's a way to save our people and not hurt the Earth Element." Rogue said, finally reaching out to touch him.

"Help me with my plan, help me with our people. Help me make them better people, help yourself be a better person so we can go across the barrier and you can meet her. Gajeel... he-"

"Ryos." Gajeel silenced.

Slowly, he swiped his hand off his shoulder and stood up on his own, "there's no need. I don't need to worry about this weakness, I'm over it now."

"Gajeel, why don't you-"

The door slammed shut as Gajeel walked out and Rogue was left alone. He sighed as he looked around the room, seeing nothing but his brother's destruction. The guards would clean this up, one thing Rogue didn't want thrown away though was the flower. He walked over to it and knelt down, gently picking it up. A petal flew off and Rogue reached for it, holding it in his hands.

"I'm sorry for my brother, he wasn't always this mad." Rogue apologized to it.

He noticed the leaves on the floor and wondered if those were more flowers Gajeel brought back. He reached for one of them and smelt food, taking another whiff. Taking the leaf off, because it's been on the floor, he spotted a sandwich and took a small nimble.

Both of Rogue's eyes widened.

"It's good."


	20. We Could

**BlackLynx17: Am I doing a good job with Gajeel and Levy? Are you seeing the love? Or the implied love? **

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 20

We Could

* * *

Their meetings were two times a week, after that day of saving her though... he's been acting different. Distant would be more like it. Levy simply didn't understand. Every time she questioned him about it, or more like ask if he was okay, Gajeel would just give her a blank stare before insulting her and saying yeah. It was weird, how much he changed over the time that she's known him. It was like in the beginning he acted like a prince, or well at least nice and kind and polite, and once they started getting used to each other she started seeing his attitude, his edge.

Not that it bothered her, truth be told the other Gajeel was too good to be true. He wouldn't have been able to survive and protect his brother if he was that nice all his life. It led Levy to believe he was trying his very best to be nice... for her sake.

That brought a smile.

Something must have happened back home though which was making him react this way. Levy didn't want to pry, she simply wanted to be a good friend, so this is why she waited and acted concerned, but normal. It's been weeks though and nothing has changed. It was started to worry her too much. What happened all those weeks ago still haunted her; why she was ready to throw her life away to comfort Gajeel? What exactly did that mean?

"Levy? Earthland to Levy? Head out the book Levy?"

Levy blinked and looked around her, seeing bookshelves filled with books and her best friend standing in front of her in all her queen glory, robe, crown, and everything.

"Wow, you look nice." Levy said placing her book on the table.

"Thank you and you looked pretty much out of it. Got lost in the tales again, huh?"

Levy giggled, "sort of. What's the occasion though Erza? I haven't seen you like this in a long while."

"There are some Shadow Elements trying to rescued, of course I can't appear in front of them without my queenness. If we're lucky soon you'll have some people to start teaching; you won't be spending much time in the library anymore." Erza grinned.

"Darn, too bad I actually love being of help to the new Elements." Levy stuck her tongue out at her.

"That's good, make our ancestors proud Levy. Well, it seems I have just a bit time to spare, is there something extravagant you'd like to tell me that you've learned from reading the book a hundred times? Can you believe I actually miss you barging in my room with some new found discover that you can't believe you've read over before." She teased.

Levy pouted and huffed, mumbling meany under her breath as her queen simply laughed. She looked at her and was happy about how happy Erza has been lately. Nothing seems to be bothering her, which was a good thing for her and their people to have a happy queen, Levy wondered if it ever got lonely though. She thought of Gajeel for a second and tilted her head, staring at her elder sister.

"Erza, why don't you have a king?"

Erza stopped mid-giggle and stared wide-eyed at Levy, "is that supposed to be teasing me back? Because it's not a very good tease."

"I'm just curious. You rose to queen when you were fourteen, usually queen's get married at sixteen but that never happened for you. Now you're nineteen, and there's nothing wrong with that, I'm just left wondering though if there's anyone special."

Levy gasped as her eyes turned a dark color. Erza's whole demeanor seemed to sag, lose its brilliants, its happiness, and it was all her fault.

"No, no, never mind Erza!" She tried to get her to smile again.

"No Levy, there's never been anyone. The Elements here are all so nice, so kind, you think I'd find one... there hasn't been any though." Erza said with her head down.

"Well you're beautiful Erza! The most beautifulest Earth Element in our whole land and the one everyone desires! You shouldn't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to find you the perfect man! Don't look so down!" Levy tried to explain.

Erza closed her eyes and shook her head, a small smile appearing on her face.

"I don't need a king to be a great queen."

"I know you don't Erza, but before you're a queen you're just Earth Element Erza and all Elements get lonely. I was just worrying over you." Levy mumbled quietly.

"I must not being doing a good job as Erza the Earth Element then if my little sister is worrying about me." Erza chuckled rubbing Levy's hair.

Levy stood there and blushed as her head moved side to side.

"Don't ever fall in love Levy, and if you do, don't ever reveal you love them first. Always be cautious, that's my advice for you." Erza whispered before turning around.

"I'm off then! Try not to get a paper cut while I'm gone." She waved as her cape fluttered behind her.

"Have a safe trip." Levy mumbled touching her head.

She was as lost as ever, there was one thing she realized though thanks to those last words of advice. Erza had been in love once and she had her heart broken explaining why her eyes always turned that dark color. She was remembering it all thanks to Levy. She didn't remember who was around all those years ago to break her heart, but it must have been true love if even now Erza still felt the after effect.

And her advice, about not falling in love. Levy's cheeks blushed lightly as she thought about Gajeel. She didn't understand love enough to know anything, Gajeel was special to her though. More than a friend, less than a lover. She didn't really know what he was, he was important for her to risk her own life though and Levy felt as if she's disobeyed Erza and revealed how much she's cared about him first.

* * *

It was lucky that Erza had her saving the same day of the week that Levy was going to visit Gajeel. Now she didn't really have to make up an excuse or anything, which has been starting to eat the young Earth Element up. She was planning on telling Erza one day, when Gajeel crosses the border, and then they could all laugh about it.

Gajeel crossing the border.

Levy blinked at the thought of that as she finished walking through the clearing. She saw the meadow, the white flowers, the princess flowers that stood out, something else was standing out though. Wide eyed Levy quickly ran and hid behind a tree, ducking under some pushes and lying completely still on the ground as she peeked over.

There, near the barrier, completely surrounded by white flowers was her queen. Erza stood there tall, proud, the wind wiping her scarlet hair back and forth. And she just stood there, unmoving, unwavering, her head up tall as she looked over to the barrier. Levy couldn't tell if she was talking, couldn't hear even if she was, and just laid there.

What on Earthland was Erza doing there?! Here?! Was she collecting princess flowers? No! Where were her guards?! Her Elements?! Why was she just standing over there looking in?! Levy started paling. She was supposed to meet Gajeel, what if he was there already talking to Erza? Or about to come walking over to talk to her? Levy closed her eyes and started praying to the Wisdom Tree that it would take Erza away, that she wouldn't find out about her secret.

Nothing happened though. Erza stayed standing there for what seemed like an eternity. After a while Levy didn't seem scared anymore or worried. In fact, she started feeling sad as she stared at Erza. Why was she just simply standing there? Alone? What was going through her mind as she stood there?

Levy felt like running over, out into the open, and hugging her best friend. She had to clench at the earth to refuse herself too. Finally though, Erza made the motion to move. She turned her head away and started walking with the barrier. She was finally leaving. Levy waited until she was out of eyesight and then even longer before she got up from her hiding spot and ran over.

"Gajeel! Gajeel!" Levy hissed.

He appeared from the sky, landing on the ground with a finger picking in his ear.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"That was Erza! My sister! I didn't know she was going to be here, she didn't see you though did she?" Levy whispered.

"I don't think she did, didn't say much. Just stood there; when I saw it wasn't you I simply fell right back asleep." Gajeel said.

"Oh my goodness, what was she doing here? What if she found you out? Oh my Wisdom Tree." Levy gasped.

"Why are you talking so quietly? She's gone now, isn't she?"

"What are you-" Levy paused and cleared her throat, "that was a close one. I was so afraid that she would find you and I, I wouldn't be able to see you anymore." Levy frowned.

Gajeel stared at her, "Do I really mean that much to you Princess?"

Erza's words echoed in her mind, "nope! Not at all actually!"

Her lying had Gajeel laughing. Levy pouted, but started giggling herself. She settled herself down on the ground and Gajeel did the same. For the first time in weeks things felt... normal between them.

"How's Rogue been?" Levy asked.

"Busy. Actually today's he's heading over to the saving grounds." Gajeel said.

Levy gasped, "you mean he's going to be judged?"

"No, more like propose something to the queen that's going to be appearing. He has this plan to save our people, something about working from the inside out. He wants the queen to send some people in our Shadow Element to teach us how to repent and change since most of us here doesn't know how to. It's all bullshit though, the queen won't care. If she did care about us then she would have been done that or at least come up with it on her own." Gajeel said.

Levy's eyes widened, "Erza isn't like that though! We do care about the Shadow Elements Gajeel, we care a lot and are so joyous when they are saved. Your brother sounds like a genius though, that plan sounds so amazing. Could you imagine if we actually did it? If we actually sent people to help better the Shadow Element? Oh my goodness, maybe I could be apart of that unit. I already help the people recovering when they pass through, I could come over there and we could-"

Levy paused; Gajeel wanted to know why she paused at the we could.

"We could, what?" Gajeel asked.

"Rogue is so amazing, this could actually work. When my sister comes home I'll ask her about it, help her suggest doing it. Maybe she'll actually listen and we could start this plan immediate-"

"We could what Levy?" Gajeel repeated, still strung up on that.

Levy blushed and looked away, down at the river that was the only thing connecting the two of them. Honestly, she didn't know how she was going to answer that question either. It was on the tip of her tongue and if she had continued on rambling then it would have been voiced.

"I... I'm unsure Gajeel." Levy said, turning away.

Gajeel clenched his fists into tight balls.

"I'll pray to the Wisdom Tree for your brother's success though. Can you image? Shadow and Earth Element finally living in harmony. You could visit me outside of the barrier Gajeel, or maybe even stay in the Earth Element for a while. I could show you everything, my home, my work, our savior." Levy smiled brightly.

It all left a funny feeling in Gajeel's stomach as he visualized all of this. A life with Levy. Rogue's plan actually working. His Element would be saved, they would be even better than saved. He always knew Rogue's plan was better, straighter, not filled with holes and shortcuts like Gajeel's. He wanted instant results though, he didn't have the luxury of time.

Now though... Levy was on board with the plan. Gajeel wondered, if all went good and happened, if Levy would be able to forgive him. For the lies, for the truths, and actually care for his true self. To her he was Gajeel the Shadow Element, not Gajeel the Shadow King. He had a feeling that Levy would be able to forgive though, to accept him. Gajeel blinked, inhaling a great big breath.

"Oh I can't wait until my sister returns home!" Levy giggled and clapped.

Gajeel couldn't wait for Rogue to return home either, to tell him that he was on board with the plan now.

"Can you simply image Gajeel? Our ancestors will be so proud- oh, speaking of ancestors, has my grandfather flower wilted yet?"

Flower? Wilted? Gajeel vaguely recalled the flower she gave her all those months ago. It wasn't in the throne room anymore, he thinks he might have destroyed it when he went on a rampage. The guards must have thrown it out.

"Yes it has."

Levy's eyes softened a little bit, "I'm sure he had a great life living somewhere new with you. Thanks."

Gajeel made a note to find out what really happened to the flower as he nodded. Their meeting ended early, both parties having someone they wanted to talk about with the same plan. Levy left Gajeel with a wide smile, Gajeel left with a small smirk.

When they met the next time, neither of them would be leaving with a smile.


	21. Rogue

**BlackLynx17: One more chapter after this before I return to Juvia and Gray, is anyone excited? I would start rereading their story if I was you. Thanks for the reviews! **

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 20

Rogue

* * *

Levy was sitting on the steps of the Wisdom Tree, humming lightly, shaking her head side to side as she waiting for her queen to return home. She wasn't there when she got back; more than the usual Shadow Elements must have tried to be saved today. Hopefully all of them that were trying got through. Even if it made Levy's life more busy, maybe it could prove to Erza that they were all changing.

Right around sundown Levy started hearing footsteps. She quickly stood up and bowed to the guards passing before Erza appeared right behind them, a scowl on her face. Levy opened her mouth to voice herself, that was when she noticed how exhausted her friend looked.

"Erza?"

"Hmm? Oh, Levy. Hey, come along." Erza said walking past her.

The guards waiting for Levy to start following their queen before walking behind them, escorting Queen Scarlet into her room before finally leaving her. Erza sighed as she dropped her coat on the floor, tossing her crown over on her table before falling down in her bed. Levy quickly followed, lying down on the bed right next to her and watching her sleeping face.

"How'd it go?" She whispered.

"Three new recruits out of seven."

"That's good, we used to get one out of ten."

"I guess so."

"Then what's wrong Erza? Why are you so... tired?"

Erza opened her eyes lightly, "a rogue Shadow Element came up and asked for an audience with me. I was surprised; that's never happened before. He told me about his idea that could help better our Elements, if I sent guards in to help the Shadow Elements instead of making them work on their own."

"That's great Erza! Isn't it? If you think about it some Elements might not even know how to redeem themselves and get saved, if we sent some of our guards-"

"They'd get killed. It was a horrible idea Levy. First off, this rogue wasn't even the king, just a side thief, secondly you should have seen how many people were behind him; they would have barely made a difference. Thirdly Levy if I sent my men in there, without at least 50% of the Shadow Element's supports, they'd be held as prisoners or worse, hostages. No Element will risk there lives for a thief, I wouldn't make my people lose their lives for Elements who already had the chance to live their lives."

"Don't we want to help them though? Isn't that our purpose? Why we have the barrier? Why we save them and give them a second chance?"

"Levy-"

"Isn't it? We don't have the right to keep them locked up in there Erza without hope."

"We have every right to after all the people they killed from us! They're murderers Levy!"

"Not all of them! If you truly believed that then why are we even rescuing these Shadow Elements?!"

"Enough Levy!"

"No! I want to know why?! A Shadow Element has reached out to us for help! He wants to help his people, so why aren't we trying to help them?!

"Stop talking about things you know nothing about!"

"Why aren't you telling me the truth Erza?! Why are you refusing to help them?"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Erza screamed, "GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"We can ask people for volunteers! Maybe the old Shadow Elements will go back in, I'm sure we'll get enough to help us Erza. This is a wonderful idea, a wonderful plan that can save the lives of many. Why are you hesitating? Erza!"

"GUARDS!"

The doors busted open, five Earth Elements running inside getting ready to protect their queen. Erza was furious, her hair wild as she leaned up from her bed and pointed a finger straight towards Levy.

"I want her thrown out! Out of my room! Out of the Wisdom Tree until further notice! NOW!" She yelled.

"Right away, your majesty."

"Erza! Erza please listen! Erza talk to me!" Levy screamed as the guards grabbed a hold of her.

"I'm tired of listening to people for the day, leave me." Erza said lying back down.

"ERZA!" Levy screamed before the doors closed in front of her.

She bent and squeezed, turning her body all around to try and get out of the guards grip. It was unsuccessful though and Levy was place gently on her feet outside of the Wisdom Tree.

"I'm sorry Levy, you need to leave though." Jet told her, a slight frown on his face.

Levy huffed and growled, glaring up at the tree, "YOU'RE SO STUBBORN SCARLET! DO YOU HEAR ME?! SINCE THE DAY WE'VE FIRST MET YOU'VE BEEN AS STUBBORN AS A WEED PLANT! UGH!"

Levy turned around and huffed as she stomped back home, kicked out of her friend's house and day job. She was too worked up to visit the new Earth Elements recruits and when she started cooling down she realized she was too sad to as well. Erza... hadn't believed in her. She hadn't believed in Rogue or his plan either. Gajeel... his people... they were going to be stuck in there.

And it wasn't fair! Not everyone was bad! Not everyone deserved to be in there! Like Gajeel said, the kids born there didn't ask to be born there! They were- they were...

"We were just lucky." Levy sighed out.

Erza made some good points about everything, still though. For her to just abandon them... it just wasn't fair! There was a chance that their plan could work, it wasn't a high chance, but if they worked on it, maybe got the king on their side then it could stand a chance.

…

The shadow king... didn't Gajeel say that he was adopted by the shadow king? Him and his brother?... That's it! Levy could ask Gajeel for help! If she tells him that the only thing keeping Erza from helping is support, then maybe Gajeel could convince the king to start helping! That should give Erza enough reason! And to show good faith, Levy could lead the team that will infiltrate the Shadow Country. There would have to be some good faith, someone high up would have to do it to show the trust in the plan. Maybe Levy could inspire others to come, she had a lot of friends. It was dangerous, sure, but Gajeel would protect.

… Gajeel would protect her. Levy... she was willing to go so far for him. She wanted to help him and his Elements so much.

"Why though? Why do I feel so happy knowing that I can be with him soon?" Levy asked, looking up at the sky.

She saw an arrange of flower petals dancing in the wind and wished they could give her the answer.

"Erza is bound to be regretful and try and apologize tomorrow, she won't change her mind though. I'll need to speak with Gajeel first. The sooner I tell him the sooner he can tell his king and try and help. When the time comes though, this will mean I'll have to tell Erza about him... she'll forgive me. Stubborn as a weed plant like always, but also very forgiving as a person." Levy told herself.

The next time they were supposed to meet would be in two days. Erza would have been tried to find her, bring her back and make it up to her. Levy was scared that she'd come up with a way to convince her different, so maybe she'd get lucky if she waited at Gajeel's spot. Maybe he often visited without Levy being there, to watch the flowers like he said he did.

It was a risk Levy was going to make. She would need to pack a pair of clothes for the nights there and some food. At least two days worth just in case she had to wait that long. If worse came to shove, she could venture inside of the Shadow Elements and find Gajeel and the king herself. She was betting her life on this, she believed in the hands it was going to though.

The night was dark, windy, but she wasn't cold. The flowers she laid it provided her warmth as Levy stared at the endless void that was darkness. They protected her from all dangerous that could appear in the night, her ancestors wishing her luck on her journey."

* * *

"Rogue! Where are you Rogue?!" Gajeel called out around their home.

No matter what room he ran into it was Rogue-less and pretty soon his guards had told him that Rogue hadn't returned from the barrier yet. Gajeel quickly ran out of their castle and into the metallic twists and curves of roads, towards the barrier. He looked around for his brother, asked his citizens and punched the ones that gave him smart ass answers.

Finally when he made it to the guarded hole the barrier, he spotted the crowd, but didn't spot his brother.

"Move it, get out of my way! Rouge?!" Gajeel yelled breaking through.

"My King, he's over here!" A guard yelled.

Gajeel started running, their citizens moving now that they noticed their king's present. Gajeel's heart stopped when he saw Rogue collapsed, dead looking on the ground.

"RYOS!" He yelled cradling him in his arms.

He felt a heartbeat, his brother was moving. Rogue was alive, but unconscious. Gajeel sighed out in a small breath of relief before he turned to the bystanders.

"WHAT?! HAPPENED?!"

"We are unsure ourselves, my liege. The queen had just left hearing Rogue's proposal taking the last rescued with her. Rogue suddenly started yelling out and collapsed when she left. We haven't touched him since then or moved him at all."

"Ryos." Gajeel whispered picking up his brother.

"OUT OF THE WAY! I WANT THESE STREETS CLEARED NOW!" He roared getting up.

He walked back to the Junk-Yard carrying Rogue all the way and brought him to probably the only doctor in the Shadow Element that he hid away in the castle. Midnight wasn't exactly shocked to see the two boys walk in, they were always getting in mishap and trouble, and quickly did his job.

"He's just passed out Gajeel, give him a few hours and he'll wake up normally." Midnight told him.

Gajeel let out a breath of relief, "thanks Doc. Are you sure everything is okay though?"

"He's perfectly healthy, yes, but it's strange on how he suddenly passed out. Rogue's always been a strong lad, his shadow abilities far more advanced than any others. I don't know what could have caused this." Midnight said rubbing his chin.

"Hopefully Rogue will be able to tell us himself when he wakes up."Gajeel said.

"Precisely, you can keep him here for now Gajeel. Best not to move him too much around, if the situation changes then come get me immediately." Midnight called out on his way out.

Gajeel nodded and pulled up a chair to Rogue's side, sitting right there beside him. He was supposed to be protecting his little brother, preventing things like this from happening. He wasn't hurt though, maybe just over exhausted.

"Geez Rogue, was talking to the queen that scary you had to go faint? Or have our subjects been giving you a hard time since you're trying to change everyone up?" Gajeel asked.

He was met with silence; he was fine with that. Soon Rogue would answer his questions, until then though Gajeel found himself a little bit tired as well. His eyes started dropping as he rested his head on Rogue's bed, slowly falling asleep behind him.

* * *

Someone was kneeing him in the face. Gajeel looked up, his eyes twitching, and started glaring at the person. Once he noticed it was Rogue the glare faded and he yawned, rubbing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. Rogue moved around, groaning as he did so. Gajeel smacked his leg once and let out a yawn.

"It's about time you wake up Ryos."

"How many times must I tell you brother, the name's Rogue."

Gajeel blinked, a shiver coursing down his spine. He looked over at Rogue with an eyebrows rose and flinched when his eyes finally opened. His eyes... they were a bloodlust red; his brother did not have eyes as sinful as these.

"Rogue?" Gajeel asked.

"Ding ding, ding! Bingo!" Rogue smirked widely showing his sparkling teeth.

Gajeel stood up from his seat while Rogue did the same, leaning up from the bed and stretching him arms out wide. He started cracking his neck around next, taking a huge inhale of breath.

"What's wrong with you Rogue?"

"What's wrong with me?! Nothing bro, man do I feel great! Like I've been asleep for sixteen years or something." Rogue chuckled tossing the covers off of him.

"It's just yesterday, it was yesterday right? Yesterday, something happened when the Queen of Earth Elements refused my proposal. I just, you know, I just sort of snapped and realized, I had been going about this all wrong! You were the right one and of course you would be because you are our king!" Rogue cheered getting up from the bed.

Rogue... Rogue didn't act this way. He didn't talk this much, act this weirdly, smirk like- smirk like Gajeel himself. Something was very wrong. Rogue would never talk about his plan like this either, thinking that saving their people was useless. His brother was better than this.

"No, Rogue. Your plan is the good one. I see that-"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh brother! That was a good one Gajeel, my plan was shit though! Now yours! Befriending an Earth Element! Pretending that you cared, making her fall in love with you only so you could kidnap her and use her, all that lying and deceit! You are definitely worthy of being our Shadow King! Oh our previous king had no balls at all but you Gajeel, you're special. I can't wait to see the expression on that poor Earth Element's face when we drag her across the barrier." Rogue grinned, licking his lips.

Gajeel froze. A low growl came from his throat before he reached out for Rogue's throat, slamming him against the wall and squeezing tightly.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Hahahaha, you think you would recognize your own brother." Rogue grinned.

"You aren't my brother! Ryos would never talk like this, now tell me who you are before I have you imprisoned or worse!" Gajeel said, tightening his grip.

Rogue chuckled a little, coughing up air, "I'm the brother you always wanted Gajeel. One that is just as dark and as evil as you. Hmm, here I was thinking once I broke free that you would be so proud?" He faked frown.

Gajeel's grip loosened slightly, "who are you?"

"You've been calling him by my name this whole entire time, maybe since I'm out you'll call me his name instead?" Rogue asked, using his hesitation to knock his arm off of him.

Midnight's words echoed in Gajeel's head, _'Rogue's always been a strong lad, his Shadow abilities far more advanced than any others.'_ At that moment Gajeel's mind went far back, to a distant memory where him and his brothers were children. This was before their King rescued them, Gajeel had stolen something from a rather high gang to sell for money. They had found their hideout, he tried to protect Ryos. He tried his best, but there were too many of them. At that moment when they were supposed to die something had happened. The whole room was covered in darkness and when Gajeel woke up, Ryos stood over all of them, laughing, grinning, his eyes the same bloodlust red.

He fainted and woke up again a minute later, forgetting everything, acting like his usual Ryos self. Before that though, he had changed to something else, someone else. The shadows had taken control of his brother.

"Give me back Ryos." Gajeel growled.

"Sorry bro, but Ryos is long gone. It might have taken a while, but the shadows have emerged and come out to play! Ryos was weak, he should have been born in the Earth Elements or some other worthless one. Now I am worthy of being called the younger brother of the Shadow King, worthy of being the Shadow King itself."

"What do you mean?" Gajeel demanded to know.

"I mean that if you cannot fulfill your promise to the people and kidnap that Earth Element the next time you two meet, that I will overthrow you and take the crown myself. It'll be an easy thing to do, I won't be as weak as you though and simply banish you. It'll be a public execution; think of that threat as a little boost to keep your mind straight."

"God dammit, who do you think you are threatening me?!" Gajeel roared tacking his brother on the ground.

"Return my brother to me right now or else I'll!" He yelled, raising up his fist getting ready for a hit.

"Or else you'll what?! Hurt me?! Kill me?! You'll kill your own brother!?" Rogue laughed in his face.

Gajeel wound his fist back and slammed into the ground, right next to Rogue's head. This had him laugh harder as he summoned the shadows to his sides, tossing Gajeel off of him and against the wall.

"She's made you weak Gajeel, just like Ryos hoped for, but don't worry. I'll be sure to accompany you on your journey next time and lead you back on the path of the shadows. The light doesn't suit you very well brother, not at all actually." Rogue chuckled heading for the door.

Gajeel coughed up blood and wiped it from his lips, glaring up at the after image of Rogue. He always knew his brother was strong and now he knew why. He had to do something, if he didn't then Ryos would never come back and Levy... Levy would...

She'd get captured. Tortured. Used. Killed. He'd kill her. Gajeel rather kill her than let Rogue do anything to her, even touch a singe hair on her head. He wouldn't harm her.

So that was his answer... huh. A Shadow King didn't deserve to be happy, he deserved to be alone. This would be the only way to save Levy and his brother. Gajeel picked up himself up and quickly escaped their home. He'd have to beat Rogue there, staying there all day and all night even though they met tomorrow. Gajeel for once hoped for some sort of miracle as he disappeared into the junk piles.

Gajeel wasn't going to give the ones he cared about to the shadows.


	22. Ryos

**BlackLynx17: Hey everyone! So like yeah, last chapter before the Earth and Shadow Elements; now in a few days we're going to be returning to the Water and Ice Elements! Is everyone excited?! I know I am!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 21

Ryos

* * *

"Gajeel!" Levy gasped waking up.

She was breathing heavily and started looking all around her, wondering what was happening. Levy found herself in a field of flowers just started to bloom, a slight breeze waving them side to side. She was at their field; she slept here last night.

"Oh," she whispered bringing her hand to to her face.

It was such a livid dream; Gajeel getting lost inside of the darkness, Levy trying to find him. She had gotten lost as well and had been alone. Oh, so alone. That wasn't going to happen though, Levy was going to save him. She was going to save him and help him save his brother, his people, everyone. As soon as they saw each other nothing was going to be the same again.

Gajeel felt like there was a shadow on him. He ran faster, quickening up his pace, almost making it to the clearing. Almost, almost, he could see the sunlight leaking in. He could practically see her standing there, smile on her face as bright as the sun, the flowers around her dancing.

"LEVY!"

"Yes?!" Levy gasped in fear, jumping back when she saw Gajeel literally come out of nowhere.

Gajeel lost his breath staring at her. She was here, she was actually here. Without a second thought he walked even closer to her, trudging through the waters and standing directly in front of the barrier, placing his hands on it. She was here, she was here.

"Levy," he breathed out in relief, a small smile appearing on his face.

Levy blinked in surprise and smiled back lightly, "Gajeel! I was hoping I could see you! I have such wonderful news!" She cheered.

That momentary relief of seeing her here safe and beautiful quickly vanished as he felt the shadows coming closer. Gajeel took a breath and clenched his fist against the barrier, resting his head against it. Levy's face turned soft as she slightly tilted it to the side.

"Gajeel?"

"Levy... I hate you."

Levy blinked once, "eh?"

"I hate you," he repeated, a little most distaste in his mouth.

"Ga-Ga-Gajeel, what are you talking about?"

"Gosh, how stupid can you be?! You're a fucking idiot, no wonder you don't have any friends!"

Something... something was wrong. Levy quickly started running over to him, splashing the water around her as she struggled to get cross it. Gajeel- Gajeel wouldn't say these things to her. Gajeel was a kind Shadow Element, one of the rare kind Shadow Elements. Something must have happened; it must have for him to take it out on her. He needed her; she wanted to help him.

"What the hell are you doing?! See! You are just proving my point! Idiot!" Gajeel roared slamming his hand against the barrier.

"Gajeel what happened? What's wrong? Why are you acting this way? You can tell me." Levy asked as before she fell down into the river.

"You want to know the truth? My full name is Gajeel Redfox; I'm the current Shadow King of the Shadow Elements." Gajeel said, standing up tall and proud.

Levy froze, staying on her hands and knees in the mucky water.

"I was only your friend to learn your secrets, to figure out a way to get out of this barrier. I've come to the terms that you don't know jack squat though and that I was just wasting my time with you. All those months pretending to be your friend and caring, all a waste! You were fucking useless!" Gajeel yelled kicking up water.

It wasn't able to hit her because the barrier was there; the barrier didn't protect her from the words though.

"Ga-Ga-Gajeel, please. I know you don't mean that," she whispered.

"What the hell are you still doing here?! I no longer need you! Leave! Never come back! I never want to see your face ever again!"

"I think I'm in love with you." Levy started crying, clenching her fists in the mud under her hands.

Gajeel's resolve wavered; she loved him? She loved- a shiver coursed through him and paranoia started creeping in. He was getting closer; she needed to leave now.

"You're even more stupid than I thought if you honestly believed I felt the same way."

Levy sniffed and started crying out loudly, bowing her head into the water. Gajeel turned around, swearing he heard a ruckus behind him. His eyes scanned all around, putting his guard up to defend her until she left.

"Leave Levy."

"Gajeel." She cried.

"Get up Levy, go now! LEAVE! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Gajeel yelled banging his hand against the barrier.

It create ripples in the barriers, sure enough to warn the guards nearby that someone was trying to break out. The Earth Elements were bound to come soon and see Levy; if anything Gajeel could hold Rogue off and they could drag Levy away. That didn't have to be the case though since Levy tried to get up by herself; she sniffed the snot running down her nose and tried to get up with her legs shaking constantly. She kept falling back into the water though, tears blurring her vision.

Gajeel refused to look back at her; he rested his head down and sighed out, "please Levy, you have to go."

Levy found the strength to get up, like a hand was pulling her even though there was no one beside her. She crawled back up the the meadow and did her best to stand up, trailing her feet behind her.

"Don't stop walking Levy." Gajeel whispered.

That was one precious person that he had saved; not it was time to rescue his other one. Gajeel's eyes turned like steel as he started walking back into the Shadow Country. He didn't have to walk far before Rogue finally met up with his; his blood lust glowing a dark red as the shadows around him started taking shape and form. Gajeel wasn't scared; he knew exactly what he had to do now. Rogue was smart enough to put two and two together; he clenched his teeth and started yelling.

"What the hell did you do?!"

"What was right." Gajeel shrugged taking his jacket off.

"You idiot! That was our ticket out of here and you just damned us all! I warned you Gajeel, I tried to let you see redemption for your betrayal, but you leave me no choice but to kill you for treason!" Rogue growled loudly.

"You're the only idiot I see here. Do you honestly think I was just handed the role of Shadow King? You're not going to stand a chance against me." Gajeel laughed.

And before Rogue could say another insult, Gajeel took the initiative and went for the first shot. Their battle was fought all across the Shadow Country; from the distant barriers to junk cities to the heart of the country. Bystanders were crushed under the rubble, hit from side attacks the two brothers missed, and caught up in the battle. Neither would give up, neither would let in or give an inch.

Gajeel had to win this. He was the eldest one and much stronger than his little brother, but for some reason he was barely holding his own. Rogue was really embracing the shadows and in an Element that is completely surrounded by shadows he was having the upper hand. Gajeel had a reason to win this fight though, he had people to protect and the thought of them getting or worse, killed started to make him angry. His anger started fueling him, the desire to make sure nothing would happen to Levy or Ryos giving him strength. He waited for his opportunity, saved his strength for that one opening and finally got a surprise attack in.

All the way across at the borders between Earth and Shadow, two Earth Element guards were standing watch; the other two guards that were with them gone to check out where the ripples in the barrier were coming from. The two Earth Elements looked with curious eyes at the smoke in the barrier along with explosions and mass chaos. Wendy it all of a sudden went dead and quiet the two of them waited a few seconds before looking at each other.

"What was that all about?"

His partner shrugged, "you got me; I've never seen that much commotion come from the other side before."

"Why has it gone quiet now?"

Before his partner could voice another I don't know answer, there was a distant sound of heavy footsteps and something dragging against the ground. The two guards looked alive and held their weapons high, turning towards the barrier. What they saw could only be described as a demon slowly walking towards them, a body hanging off his back as he prepared to drag him to hell. The two Elements shivered and when Gajeel raised his head and glared at them the two caught flinched and took a step back, fear shaking their very core. They've never felt such a killer instinct in a Shadow Element anymore.

"He's here to get redemption." Gajeel growled, throwing Rogue towards them.

"Re-redemption period-d is over." One of the Earth Element's shook, his words coming out all jumbled.

"Our queen is not here, there's no way we could fulfill such a-"

"If you do not try to save this Shadow Element right now I swear on my Ender I will stab my hand right through this barrier of yours and choke the life out of both of you." Gajeel spoke, his voice dripping poison.

The two guards flinched and tried to get away from him; one of the guards tripped and falling on his back. They were going to die. That's all they felt and thought being in the presence of this Shadow Element, fear sinking into every fiber of their body. If they did not get away, they were going to die.

"It is fine boys, let me test the child."

Gajeel glared at the new Element walking in, a woman who was dressed like a tree herself. There were twigs and branches decorating her silky black hair that was tied up in a bun; she had on a pure white T-shaped, straight-lined robe with attached collars, long and wide sleeves that covered her hands, and a single red sash that was wrapped around her stomach. She stared at Gajeel with these deep green eyes and lifted her hands up, revealing a tree branch with bells tied to it in one of her hands. Gajeel was wondering who the hell was this freak while the two Elements bowed and showed their respect.

"Shrine Maiden." One of them greeted.

"Our queen-"

"That's enough boys, I said it was fine. If I was you two I wouldn't be denying the King of the Shadows." The Shrine Maiden giggled, walking over to him.

Shrine Maiden? Whoever she was, she was about to help him so Gajeel said nothing as he took some steps back, away from his brother, and watched as the maiden stood directly in front of the barrier where Rogue laid passed out and shook her branch.

"Who is here to be judged?" She asked.

"Ryos Redfox." Gajeel spoke for him.

The bells started ringing and a light appeared over Rogue's unconscious body.

"What sins has he committed?"

"Being my brother, that is the only one." Gajeel said, lowering his head.

The Shrine Maiden raised an eyebrow before closing both of her eyes, using her spiritual one as she looked into the Shadow Element. She gazed into the child's soul and being, watching his life through his eyes and judging him for his actions. She was silent; Gajeel half thought she fell asleep, but all of a sudden her eyes opened back up and she turned her head over to the guards and nodded.

"He can be saved, bring him across." She said.

The guards looked at her like she was crazy.

"He's the King's younger brother-"

"That has done nothing wrong other than be his brother. That is nothing he should be damned about, now bring him over." Shrine Maiden repeated, this time with a little more annoyance in her voice.

The two guards looked at each other before nodding, heading over towards the barrier. Gajeel watched as his brother was about to be saved and taken away from this hell... only to return back once he had woken up.

"Wait." He said.

The two guards stopped moving and looked up.

"Is it possible... to erase memories of those who pass through?"

The Shrine Maiden was highly amused with this, "it is possible. It's not permanent though, it may take a year, two, twenty, but he's going to remember one day."

"Good, it'll give me time to change this place if he ever decides to come back once he remembers. Please, as King of the Shadow Elements, could you do me this one favor?" Gajeel asked bowing his head down.

"You're nothing like how our Element depicts you. Hurry up and bring our new brother over you two, we can sneak him in with the new recruits that passed and maybe get away with this."

The Earth Elements walked over, crossing through the barrier. One grabbed his brother while the other stayed guard, watching Gajeel. He wasn't about to do anything though. He watched as his brother slowly was dragged onto the other side. As soon as he touch the barrier it vibrated; a bright color started shining. Shadows started flying out of Rogue, scattering back into the darkness of the Shadow Element and Gajeel sighed in relief.

Levy had once told him that the evil shadows from within leave a Shadow Element once they cross over. That it's their powers to control the darkness that is the price to become an Earth Element. Rogue was completely gone from his brother now, or at least should be. Gajeel hoped and prayed that he was.

"It is done, when this Element wakes up he will know nothing but his Element. Not even his own name." Shrine Maiden said.

"It's Ryos. Tell him it's Ryos Red-... Fernandez, please."

"Ryos Fernandez it is then. I'll take him to the village boys, good work." The Shrine Maiden said reaching for Ryos.

Gajeel spared once last look at his brother before turning around, leaving everything behind. Now he was truly the Shadow King; he truly led his kingdom... alone.

"At least they're safe though," Gajeel told himself before disappearing into the darkness.

The two guards never once saw the Shadow King again.

* * *

"Levy, I'm sorry. I never meant for you to cry this much, please forgive me. I didn't mean any of it, I was just very stressed and-"

"It's fine Erza, I forgive you." Levy said.

Erza looked down and saw her dark red eyes, her runny nose, and the dark circles under her eyes that made her heart clench.

"I'm so sorry." Erza whispered.

Levy shook her head again, "I'm fine Erza. Now if you don't mind I'd like to meet the new recruits and get back to my job."

"Levy-"

"Really Erza, we're fine." Levy smiled and started giggling, "just let me work. I'll let you make this up to me another day."

Erza sighed and half smiled back hearing her giggle. Levy quickly left the room and started making it to the outskirts of their village, where the new recruits lived. It hasn't even been four hours yet and she was already throwing herself in work. It was the only thing she could do. All the tears had fallen during the walk home and all the truths had sunk in.

He was the king. Of course he was using her; he never cared about her. He was only using her. Levy's heart hardened. She didn't need nothing to do to be alone with her thoughts, she needed to keep herself busy or else risk breaking down again.

"Sorry I'm late Kikyo!" Levy whined running into the room.

"No worries Lev- Oooh, you look horrible. Did you just get dumped?" Kikyo asked, covering her mouth.

Levy chuckled lightly, "no, Erza and I had a nasty fight yesterday and I took it hard."

"Oh my goodness, I just heard about that. I didn't think it was true though, how are you two?"

"Better. She was just stressed out, I think the both of us were. We can talk about this another time though and not in front of our new brothers and sisters. So who do we have here?" Levy asked.

"Right, of course. So Levy, allow me to introduce you to Alexa Strife, Hanako Fair, and Auron Hewley; they all decided to keep their names." Kikyo said.

"That's a good thing, you never want to completely shed everything from your past. You should always keep a part of you inside." Levy said.

The three new Earth Element recruits nodded their head as they watched Levy, all wondering what had happened to her.

"There's one more, he's in the restroom currently though." Kikyo said.

"Huh? Erza told me only three were saved."

"It was actually four, it must have slipped her mind. Ah, here he comes." Kikyo said looking over to the door.

Levy did as well and took a step back, her eyes widening as she looked at the man walking across the room. After a second she realized that it wasn't Gajeel, that didn't stop her heart from racing though. The hair was raven black, those eyes were blood red, but his face... it was different, softer, calmer. The man looked up at her and blinked lightly.

"He decided not to remember anything from his past, he's a blank slate." Kikyo whispered.

Levy's heard clenched a little bit, "what about his name?"

"That he decided to keep, well Ryos Fernandez meet Levy McGarden. She's going to be helping you, all of you, with your journey." Kikyo said.

Ryos stared over at Levy, making her want to cry as she saw Gajeel in them. He walked over calmly to her despite her distress and bowed his head lightly.

"Please take care of me."

Her eyes widened slightly while Kikyo whistled.

"A Shadow Element with manners, now that is something." She said.

Levy nodded and bowed slightly right back, "please do the same for me as well."

Ryos looked up and smiled lightly at her and suddenly, Levy didn't feel in pain anymore. She actually felt sort of light. The two of them, though separate, were in pain. One savior would be able to help one of them though while the other Ender would only watch the pain grow.

Just shows how lucky the Earth Elements were compared to the Shadows. If one thing were different, the whole world could have changed.


	23. Family Secrets

**BlackLynx17: We're back people! Back to the beginning! It's a year later, a bit of a time skip, but nothing you shouldn't be able to catch up on. I had a lot of positive reviews on Levy's and Gajeel's story and it pleases me that I did such a good job on that! I was worrying about getting their characters right, but a lot of you liked them so thank you for that! Thanks for your reviews! Thanks for reading my stories! Sorry it took so long to get back to Gray and Juvia, I REALLY recommend rereading their chapters though because there were some scenes that weren't explained, but are in this chapter.**

**Anyways, enjoy. Fairy Tail forever people!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 23

Family Secrets

(1 Year Later)

* * *

Time passed for all of the eight Elements; was it fate that six of the eight got separated from each other? It probably would have been if all eight got separated, but maybe only two Elements were lucky. Ice and Water; they could have been the luckiest Elements... or maybe the unluckiest. We begin their story once again with an Ice Element resident, not entirely lost like last time, but maybe a little lost in conversation as he tried to absorb everything he was being told.

"As leader of the Ice you should know the names of everyone in your Element, which part of the our home they live in, and what problems they deal with that we could help make their lives easier." Gray Sr. said to his son.

Gray nodded, never paying more attention to his Father before in his life. It has been nearly a year since their meeting and never without a single second in a day did he stop thinking of her.

Juvia Lockster. Eighteen years old, a ready age to start training to become the new leader of the Water Elements just like he was right now. He welcomed all these lessons, like she was probably doing right now, because being leader meant you had access to everything. Nothing was hidden from the leader, no secrets or history.

"Now I want to see how many people you can name Gray as we take a walk through our home." Gray Sr. said.

Gray simple nodded and smirked to his father, motioning a 'lead the way' with his head. Gray Sr. laughed and patted his son on the back before leading the way. Gray stared at the faces and started naming them all off the back of his head. Even though he didn't know all of the residents here, he was still able to impressive his father with the good chunk of Elements he named.

"You've been studying." He noted.

"No, it's just hard to forget the people you live with everyday."

Gray Sr. rolled his eyes and put his son into a headlock, "are you trying to be smart with me boy?"

Gray laughed and pushed his father off, getting into a fighting stance. Gray Sr. laughed and got ready to, dodging and ducking his son's hits before smashing his fist on the side of his jaw. Gray went flying making his father laugh.

"Not nearly strong enough to take my position yet boy! Hahaha!"

Gray leaned up and wiped the blood off the side of his mouth. "I will be."

"Our fight just reminding me of something; get up boy." Gray Sr. said heading down a hall.

Gray stood up and dusted his pants off before jogging after him. He stuck his hands inside of his pockets and started looking around. Everyday their home was different, his Elements using their endless abilities and creativity. What had been the most recurring theme though was the waves Gray discovered from the water. He followed his father through the familiar halls, after a while knowing where they were going. To their savior, the Iceberg. He smirked lightly remembering the last time he visit, which was yesterday. Juvia had still been hidden in their, her sculpture form that is.

He had been going to their savior begging for answers everyday, never missing one. He had never been answered, but the dreams, he realized that weren't normal, appeared to him every night. A man finding the Iceberg, his great something grandfather, and talking with it. Their savior offering something more and his grandfather accepting. There were talks, conversations he remembered, but just barely. His grandfather knew the Water Element leader, they were really close, practically brothers it seemed like in his dreams. The betrayal he felt when his brother didn't accept, didn't like what he was talking about and made him swear not to mention it ever again; that hadn't happened though. His grandfather had told everybody in their Element and asked for volunteers to come with him.

Elements went, thinking the same as him. Most stayed, scared of their leader's rules. Once on the ice though they were banished on the ice, never to return to the waters. His grandfather hadn't listen, he continued between the two sections for what he dreamed about ages. Every dream he looked older, more like his father than like him. His last dream had been when the Water Element leader had enough and stood up to him. This was when the war started, Gray liked to believe. His grandfather didn't seem like the war type though, so Gray didn't think he would participate in it. He had to have though since the history books clearly stated there was a war.

The thing that bugged Gray the most about his visions though was their savior. The Iceberg... it wasn't ice in his visions. He didn't know what it was. Whenever it appeared it would be blurry or snowy, but Gray knew it was him. Nothing was ever said that their Iceberg was anything different than... an iceberg. Not even his father told him any different.

"What are you thinking of so intensely of Gray?" His father asked.

"The visions." Gray said.

He had been telling his father about them, finding no harm in doing so. He hadn't been much help, but his father seemed to be happy hearing about their grandfather so he kept on telling him.

"What happened last night?"

"Nothing really, grandfather kept trying to recruit new people. The Water Element leader finally had enough and sent him back to our ice land. I think the war is going to happen soon and after that we already know the rest." Gray said shrugging.

"So strange; the only visions I had were with grandfather building this kingdom although I wasn't as curious as you and didn't even ask for visions." Gray Sr. chuckled walking down the final doors.

Gray bowed towards their savior before entering, following after his father. He simply watched as his father started stripping, taking off his armor and undergarments until he was left bare chested with only his pants on like his son always walked around.

"This is the secret on how we won the war." His father said walking over to the Iceberg.

He turned around and faced Gray, placing a hand on their savior. The icy winds started picking up around him and Gray's eyes widened as he saw the ice start to infuse with his hand, going up to his elbow.

"The war looked bleak, there were just too many Water Elements than Ice so our grandfather came here and asked our savior for the strength to protect his family."

The ice covering the room started losing it's sparkle, its color, and turned a darker blue color nearing black as the ice continued to gather and grow up his father's arm. When his father removed his hand, the ice around his arm broke and revealed a black tattoo on his arm.

"The Iceberg granted his wish and let him use some of its power. This is how we won the war, with this power we were able to freeze the entire Water Elements nation."

Gray's eyes slowly widened, understanding now. There really was a war, one that only one side wanted. While the Ice Elements wanted to live in peace, the Water Elements just couldn't leave them alone. Gray guessed because of the betrayal the Water Element leader must have felt. Pushed up against a wall with no other choice his grandfather had to fight back. He borrowed the power... but how could he have killed his family? His friends? How could he have destroyed his home? He wasn't like that, Gray knew first hand. He must have, he must have... blocked their ways back to each other with a barrier.

He was the one who created the ice wall between Juvia and himself, to save everyone from each other. He didn't kill them all though, just created a layer or wall between them and completely covered the water; then he must have told everyone he had killed them all. It all made sense now. So this power his father held in his hands was the power that created the barrier between them.

It was also going to be the power to break them apart.

"We haven't needed to use this since the uprisings our great, great, grandfather calmed down, but it's a good thing to know that it's here." Gray Sr. said.

He placed his hand back on the Iceberg and returned the power back to it, watching as the dark icicles turned a bright and white blue again. Gray walked over a little too eager and placed his hand on the ice, trying to draw that same energy. It wasn't working though.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

Gray Sr. chuckled, " a little eager son?"

"Seriously, how?"

"A secret I shall reveal to you one day in the near future son, for another day. Today we continue with the names."

His disappointed was clear on his face before he wiped it clean of emotions. Slowly, he turned around and nodded at his father before following after him. He was happy right now, or at least should have been. Gray knew what it was keeping them apart and now, hopefully, with that same power he could open them back up.

Juvia wouldn't have to see him through a block of ice anylonger. Soon... she will be able to see the real him.

* * *

"There's something seriously wrong with our daughter." Ryujin had announced at the dinner table.

"You know I'm right here Daddy." Juvia waved.

"What's that dear?" Athena asked.

"The way she's been acting recently."

"You mean completely obedient and happy to learn and follow in your footsteps?" Juvia asked.

"How has she been acting dear?"

"Just the eagerness of everything... I think she's trying to soften me up."

Juvia rolled her eyes; more like squeeze every secret out of him so she could start actually being a help to Gray.

"Now why would she do that dear?"

"I think our daughter has a boyfriend."

Juvia started chocking, falling out of her seat.

"If not that then a crush or lover."

"You're embarrassing her dear, now look. Even if she does have one she isn't going to tell us now."

"Perfectly right, I should have probably had this conversation in secret with you."

"I DO NOT HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" Juvia yelled, turning red under the water.

Or at least, not until Gray asked to be her boyfriend. She started blushing for an entirely different reason as she sat back in her seat.

"I'm finished with breakfast, can we start today's lesson now Daddy?" Juvia asked.

He grunted, "no Juvia, not until you answer this question honestly. Do you really not have one?"

"Honestly, I really don't have one."

"Did you hear that Momma? Our daughter's going to be single and alone forever." Ryujin started crying.

Juvia sighed and shook her head, just like her mother.

"She's only eighteen dear."

"We were going out when we were eighteen."

"Correction, you were still trying to go out with me while we were eighteen."

"At least I was interested in someone! Juvia here isn't at all!"

Juvia blushed, she wouldn't say at all.

"You can start worrying about her love life when she's twenty and leader of our Element. Until then leave our daughter alone and go start her lessons."

"I'm simply worrying about her love." Ryujin's said.

"Mommy, why did you marry Daddy?" Juvia asked.

"I don't know dear, I ask myself that everyday though." Athena replied back.

"Why are you both acting so mean to Papa?!" Ryujin started crying out loud.

Athena rolled her eyes and swam over to him, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

"Because we love you, now go you two. I can't start cleaning if there are still people in the house making messes."

"Oh Momma! You do love me!"

Juvia giggled lightly at her parents, averting her eyes when they kissed. Her father started laughing and floating away, a grand smile on his face as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Come on Juvia, let's get started on today."

Juvia kissed her mother goodbye before swimming after him.

"Dinner's at seven guys!"

"Okay!" They called after.

Juvia kicked her legs vigorously as she tried to keep up with her father. They swam through their kingdom, saying hello and waving at people they knew. While Ryujin seemed to know everyone, Juvia struggled with some people and simply waved. It was not like none of them never knew who she was though, being the heir of their kingdom. It was a lot of responsibility, one Juvia didn't mind having after meeting Gray. She was finally able to be useful to him, or at least of some use.

Down, down, down, they swam further and further away from their kingdom. Juvia had a puzzling look on her face as she wondered where they were heading, but didn't voice it. Ryujin led the way and kicked his feet and legs, swimming down into the waters that seemed to turn pitch black. Juvia paused before entering, staring down at the black emptiness waters.

"Daddy?" She called out.

"Come along Juvia!" He called out of the darkness.

When Juvia made no motion to swim down with him, Ryujin swam back up and resurfaced; his top body above the blue waters while his lower half was submerged in the darkness.

"Why are we here? These are the forbidden waters, no one is allowed here." She said.

"No one, but the heirs and leaders of our Element. Who do you think made them forbidden? Now let's go." He told her.

Juvia gulped as she watched her father slowly sink back into the darkness. When his hand was only visible she reached out and grabbed it, swimming into the nightmare with him. It was scary, losing her vision. All around she saw nothing but black and darkness. She had lost one of her favorite senses and everything inside of her told her to swim back towards the light. She didn't dare open her mouth in fear that the darkness would take her voice as well. Her father's strong hand kept her in place though.

"There's a trick to seeing in this darkness, I'll start training you but you must swear not to tell anyone about this, not even Mama of this place." Ryujin said.

Juvia nodded before remembering he couldn't see her or at least wasn't looking at her, so she squeezed his hand instead. It took a while, two minute or so, before Juvia heard the sound of a handle jiggling. A gust of water pushed her in and she felt some support on her feet. She started using her feet to walk and the door slammed behind her. There was a small light at the end of the tunnel they started walking through.

"This was our great grandfather of several generations resting place. If he wasn't building our nation, he was here writing down every step of the way."

"What do you mean?" Juvia asked.

The light got brighter and Juvia saw it was an angel fish swimming around a door. Ryujin opened that door with much difficulty, the angel fish swimming into the room first illuminating it. Juvia swam in too and all she saw was scrolls, scrolls all across the walls and on the floor, sticking out of dressers and drawers, a desk on the side of the wall where the angel fish laid on top of.

"This is our beginning, what our textbooks and teachings don't tell the other Elements. Written here is the journey of our greatest grandfather and how he made our Element 1000 years ago."

Juvia gasped and swam around, staring at everything. These scrolls held the history of the beginning, how everything in the waters came to be and maybe even how the barrier was created as well. Somewhere written in one of these scrolls could be the answer Juvia has been searching for.

"This place is a secret, need I remind you, and dinner starts at seven like Mama said. I expect you home by then." Ryujin said.

"You aren't staying?" She asked.

"I've been reading all of these since my father took me here; I know what you're feeling right now. This is not something to read with someone else in the room. Take the angel fish to help you on your way out. Don't forget dinner."

Her father smiled shortly and left after that, leaving her alone with what she's been trying to find for a year now. Everything was in such clutter, randomly everywhere... she didn't know where to start. The ending would be best, the ending could explain what that wall separating them was. Juvia started swimming all around the room, looking at the scrolls. Each had a mark, a date, and it was easy to see the patterns once she found the dates, though she would need to reorganize later.

She found the scroll with the latest date and opened it, sitting on the floor as she read through it slowly.

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_I... I don't want this. I never wanted any of this, this war, this nonsense fighting and blood shed. We cannot live in peace though. He told me we couldn't, that we can't co-exist like this. What he was asking me though... he knows I was holding back before. It's been years, he's grown tired. If I don't end this war then he will end us. I'm doing this for the greater good of my people... but my brother Fullbuster... There is no choice. My hands are tied._

* * *

There was a pause before another date appeared. Fullbuster... that was Gray's last name. So Gray's family... they were Water Elements? What's worse... her grandfather and his grandfather were brothers?

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_I can't believe it, I couldn't believe it! I'm happy, I act like I'm not, but I am. I can't hide anything from him though and I know he can see into my heart, he does nothing though. As long as the Ice Elements are away from us... I couldn't believe it. I never knew Fullbuster had grown so strong. He appeared before my army alone, standing naked in only his shorts with a sad smirk on his face._

_He gave me two options, I gave him only one. He... I can't describe this in words, but he froze the water. He froze everything, as far as the eyes could see. Whirlpool didn't like that, he moved our home far away from the Ice Elements. I'll never see Gray Fullbuster again. He was like a brother to me, was my brother though we weren't related by blood. He should have been the leader of the Water Elements, he should be where I'm standing right now. He wanting something more while I... I just wanted to protect my family. For my brother Gray Fullbuster, if you ever read this then know... I'm sorry brother._

* * *

A weight had been lifted from her chest before her eyes furrowed together. Her grandfather sounded so regretful, so sad in this. He hadn't wanted a war, but it sounded like he was forced to have one. Who would force him though? If he was the leader then no one should have been able to oppose him. The scroll ended there and Juvia sighed, looking all around her.

"This is going to take a while." She whispered.

For today though, she was going to organize. Start from the first date, finish with this one. She nodded and started going to work, pulling out all the scrolls and placing them on the floor. The room looked larger and emptier as she stared at the walls. Her eyes started blinking as the angel fish started flickering it's light on and off.

"What?" Juvia asked.

Was it angry that she moved everything? That didn't seem the case as he swam around her then back on the desk, flicking its light on and off again. Juvia furrowed her eyebrows and swam over, floating above the desk as she spotted an open scroll there with words written on it. It was nearly filled, a long line dragging off at the end like he stopped writing all of a sudden and never came back to finish.

"Grandfather?" Juvia whispered as she sat on his seat.

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_It took years to find it, I know my brother though. We are connected, something more powerful than the bound between me and the my savior. I found the ice wall Gray created to separate us. He saved us, I know this now. He could have killed us all, froze the entire water instead of just the top... I wanted to ask why he didn't after all I did to him. There was snow covering everything on top of the ice and it took days to find the spot where the sun appeared. When I finally found it though, he was there. He promised me to always be for me and I knew he had kept his promise. This was the place where we fought, where we stood against each other. He looked different, older, I'm sure we both did. There were things to be said, done, feelings, I nearly tried to kill him and he only tried to save me... there were no grudges though. He just smiled at me and it was like when we were younger, doing nothing but hiding in the Whirlpool._

_We both knew we could never see each other after that and I couldn't help bu-t_

* * *

"What? But what?" Juvia gasped picking up the scroll.

It ended there, nothing more and nothing less written. Juvia fell back into her chair and covered her face, shaking her head.

"Gray created that hole so he could meet secretly with his brother, but my grandfather never showed up again. My grandfather started all of this, it's Water Elements fault that we're separate. Gray." Juvia cried.

It was only for a minute though before she looked up and stared at the scrolls with determination. She was going to learn everything she could about the past, everything about her grandfather and Gray's.

"Next time we meet Gray, it'll surly be in person."


	24. Brother

**BlackLynx17: So I've recently, just recently beaten Final Fantasy X and X-2 FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! And like, I really fell in love with Shuyin and Lenne. I mean, I really love Tidus and Yuna as well, but they had a happy ending and I felt that Shuyin and Lenne didn't really so I wrote a fanfiction about them. FFX fans, be on the look out for it!**

**Anyways a lot of things are happening now and I'm just now realizing that the second part to Juvia and Gray's story isn't really that long... it's actually pretty short... I wrote and posted way too much in the beginning. But! That just means you get to see everyone else's story sooner though so enjoy! Review! Thanks for reading! I hope you like this chapter!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 24

Brother

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_Gray was the first one I found. Gray Fullbuster. I don't know who swam to who, once we met though we never parted. We became hopeful in the endless abyss of the water and wondered if there were others like us. We both once thought we were alone, but found each other. Surely there had to be more of us and if there was, surely one of us would have to create a place for all of us to live together. It was his idea, he was always the bright and optimistic one. He should have been leader._

_He gave it to me though because he knew how badly I wanted it. I couldn't help the desire in my heart, I wanted to be looked up upon though and counted on. I had been alone for so long, I wanted everyone to love me._

_Our savior, the great Whirlpool, gathered us all up. Only I could hear him, not Gray. He chose me, not Gray. I was happy, I didn't understand though. I couldn't offer anything to our savior, but he told me it was fine. He would give us safety, a home, peace, as long as I rose up and lead the Elements into harmony. Gray had no complains, he laughed that I was talking to a whirlpool. He couldn't feel the energy of his being and presence... I should have known there._

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_Its only been one year since everyone was gathered and finally things are in place. People are meeting, harmonizing, families are being made, grown. I myself have taken a wife, a beautiful woman, while Gray's still the same. He leaves on journeys sometime, goes off looking for something not even he knows. He asked me once if this was all there was in the world. I didn't know the answer to that, so I asked the great Whirlpool. He explained the other sections out there in our small world and I explained it right back to Gray in the same way. So what if there were other worlds, why would anyone want to leave this sanctuary?_

_He told me he could be doing something greater. He could. He could be leading these Elements, not me. What would be greater than helping me though? Protecting the companions we so desperately searched for once upon a time? He didn't know and that was the problem. I didn't understand. I still don't. What was wrong with not knowing the unknown? _

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_Gray's been straying from his Element. He's discovered something different, something new. Snow. Ice. Whirlpool went crazy after he leaned this, demanding me to get all parts of snow away from his waters. I told Gray, he was just so happy though. I believe he found what he 's been searching for and was finally happy. Whirlpool wasn't feeling the same way though. He hated the Ice, so much anger I never experienced before._

_I want Gray to be happy, Whirlpool needs to be happy though or our home will be destroyed. I know who I have to choose so I warned Gray; he doesn't understand. I don't expect him to. This is what he wants and I can't help him achieve his dream like he helped achieve mine. I can't help my brother at all after what he's done for me. Could I even call myself his brother?_

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_He needs to leave. Whirlpool is tired of my procrastination, he's getting more and more rapid and I can't control him anymore. He wants Gray gone. I tell him. It's the first time I see him so angry, so passionate. I tell him to leave. I see the hurt in his eyes but I can't do anything. I'm trapped in a whirlpool. For once I'm happy that I'm the leader instead of him. Gray's free to do what he wants, I couldn't live seeing him trapped like me._

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_WAR! HE WANTS WAR! I CAN'T HAVE WAR! I CAN'T RISK MY ELEMENTS, I CAN'T KILL THEM! I CAN'T KILL MY BROTHER!_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_I don't know what to do... no. I know what I have to do, I can't find the strength to though. He wants blood, he wants the Ice away from Water. I have to obey, I need to protect my family. My wife, my kids... If only Gray could hear the Whirlpool. I'm sure he would understand why I must do what I must do... I'm sure he would be strong enough to ignore the feelings though and find another way. I'm not. I can't._

_I don't want to kill my brother, I will try to convince him. We need another way, there is no other way though. Or at least one I can't see. I shall talk to Gray one more time though, I will beg him to stay on his land from now on and me on my own. We can't live in harmony like he wants us too, Whirlpool won't allow it no matter how much my heart desir__es__._

* * *

_Date: XXX_

_I was never so proud of my brother until I saw him standing tall and fierce in front of me. Behind him all his followers stood, once my followers, with complete trust on their faces. Each and everyone of them would die for him. I wondered for a second if that's how I looked. He looked like a true leader standing in front of me. This must have been why the Whirlpool picked me. Because he must have known that Gray was destined to lead the Ice Elements._

_"You look strong." I told him._

_"I look happy." He replied._

_I smiled, same old Gray. He smiled back at me and asked if this was the only way. He wouldn't see reason, I had no other choice, we just couldn't make an agreement. I asked him why he did it, why he kept venturing down into the waters. He was happy here, had enough people to start a kingdom and thrive. He had finally found a wife in the Ice Elements, we both could have gone our separate ways and lived grateful lives. I don't think I'll ever forget what he said that day._

_"When we first met we both made a promise to never leave each other. I'm not going to break that promise no matter what you do or throw at me. You saved me in those waters, you helped me achieve all of this. I won't take anymore of your Elements unless they come to me, I won't force anyone to stay here if they desire to return. I will not stay away from you though brother. I made that promise and I intend to keep it until our dying breathes."_

_It was then that I realized, even though he lived on land, even though he visited the Waters and sweet talked his way to Elements to join him up on the Ice... he always found the time to visit me. Even if we only argued, even if I only screamed and yelled at him and he only took it... he always came back to me. I don't deserve to live._

_Whirlpool wouldn't accept this. He wanted nothing to do with Gray so I wanted nothing to do with him. I don't regret anything I've done in my life, in the end I realized if I didn't do those things Gray wouldn't be free. The one thing I do regret though... was not being strong enough. Strong enough to stand by his side. _

_I didn't deserve to call him my brother._

* * *

He hadn't seen her in days, less than a week, but still long enough to worry. They had been seeing each other for a year and not once did they miss a single day together. Something was wrong. He tries to think on how she reacted last time they saw each other, she was so very happy though. Happy because of him.

He had news to make her even happier, make their lives even greater. He had a chance to see her, a small string of hope for them. She wasn't there to share this hope though and she still never came back. At the end of the week Gray thought the worst had happened, that she'd given up on him and found something else. It... it was a hard reality.

"Son?"

Gray didn't respond, staring at the wall of his room.

"Is there something you'd like to discuss Gray?"

Still he said nothing.

"You've never once missed a lesson together and now you've missed seven; you always disappear early in the morning and not once have I heard you sneak off in the morning."

"Have you ever been disappointed?" Gray finally asked.

His father blinked, "disappointed? Loads of times."

"No Father, it's not the same."

Gray Sr. made a chair out of ice and set it beside his bed, "well then make me understand son."

He didn't know how to without telling his father about Juvia.

"I... I don't know how to."

"You need to help me son or else I can't help you."

"Maybe I don't need your help then!" Gray yelled out in frustration.

He didn't understand why Juvia would do this to him, he didn't know why! She was, she was... Gray curled up into a ball suddenly feeling very cold.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you then." His father said standing up.

Gray heard his footsteps heading towards the door, exiting the room.

"Ice Elements live a long life my son, long enough for regret to be an early death. If something is bothering you then do something about it. Regret is a horrible thing... your great grandfather held regret in his heart while on his deathbed... I don't want you to end us the same way. That's all I will say."

He left the room and Gray was left alone to wallow in his misery. His father's words had planted something in his head though, something crazy. He couldn't accept this, wouldn't. There was no note, no ending, no good-bye. She wouldn't have just left him; Gray couldn't live with this. He rose up from his bed and stared at the door. If he was able to draw his savior's power he would go to her. If he couldn't then... Gray would move on as well.

He took a deep breath and walked over to the wall in his room, placing his hand on it. He gathered the ice into the palm of his hand and redirected it somewhere else so there was now another exit from his room. Without looking back once, he started running outside and up the stairs, heading to their savior. Elements barely noticed him, everyone downstairs to watch the icicle show his teacher was putting on. It couldn't have been a more perfect moment.

He arrived in the room alone and breathless, slowly walking to the Iceberg. He placed on hand on it and then the other, trying to draw in the energy. Nothing happened like it did with his father.

"Please, please Iceberg. I know you can feel me, I know you can see my memories. I need to know why she left, I need to know if she's safe and found someone else or if she's trapped. I need your power. I know why you made the wall, I know you tried to save us all from the Water and I'm grateful, I... I..."

Gray squeezed his eyes shut and started crying. His hand started feeling cold and he bit his bottom lip, punching the Iceberg. No one had ever done such a thing and Gray had immediately regret it, but... but...

"I need your strength."

Nothing happened. There had to be a trick to this whole power thing. It looked like his Father had become one with the ice, gathering its power into him... like Gray had done early as he tried to escape his room. Gray placed his palm flat on the Iceberg and started absorbing the ice.

He couldn't feel his arm. It slowly turned to ice, spreading farther than it did with his father. He couldn't control it... he didn't care. The room got colder, the ice turning a dark black color as his body started freezing. If he didn't let go he was going to turn into ice, become one with the Iceberg. He didn't let go, which surprised something.

"I'd gladly risk my life to see her one more time." Gray whispered.

The ice around his body broke and in place of it he saw black symbols running up his arm to his chest. Gray fell to his knees and clutched his chest, breathing heavily. He couldn't believe that worked, it did though and he had done it. He now had the power to see Juvia... but for how long? All of the ice was turning black and that wasn't going to go unnoticed for very long. Gray quickly got to his feet and headed towards the closest opening in the room, creating a slide as jumped out of it.

"Wait for me Juvia, I'm coming."


	25. Finally

**BlackLynx17: SO! I've gotten reviews saying that Juvia and Gray are RELATED, but let me tell you that is not true. I thought I wrote it clearly enough, but it seems that some people didn't get it so I'm here to explain. Gray and Juvia's grandfather met in the water after being completely alone; they weren't related, but acted like brothers which is why I call them brothers. I explain how Lockster found Fullbuster and then they created the Water Element together, so not related, but brothers.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 25

Finally

* * *

"DEAR DO SOMETHING!"

"I can't."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T, YOU'RE OUR LEADER! THERE MUST BE SOMETHING YOU CAN DO!"

"No, there isn't. I can't do anything dear-

"THAT IS OUR DAUGHTER!"

"AND SHE HAS BETRAYED OUR ELEMENT!" Ryujin exploded at his wife.

Athena fell onto the floor in tears, hugging herself tightly as she cried out. Ryujin closed his eyes and clenched his fists, wishing he could have controlled himself better. He swam over to comfort his wife, she exploded though.

"No! You stay away from me! She's our daughter Ryujin! Our daughter! And you chose everyone else over her!"

"You don't understand dear."

"I don't want to understand if that means losing Juvia!" Athena screamed to his face.

Ryujin felt the water go ice cold as he froze, not being able to do anything but watch his wife break down in tears. He couldn't handle this scene, he couldn't watch this and since he couldn't do anything to help her his only other option was to simply leave... so he did. His wife was in hysterics, his followers in question while their savior... their savior was furious. What in the world had Juvia done to make it so mad? What? What?! Everything was fine just a few days ago, perfect compared to today. She was well on her way to becoming his successor; he had shown her their history and even though she had fallen asleep in there and missed dinner, she still obeyed his rules after and made sure it didn't happen again. When they went on their usual visit to give thanks to the Whirlpool though... that's went he swallowed her up. He couldn't reach her, couldn't hear her or talk to her, she didn't reappear and after the hours and days passed by...

She was gone.

"No, she's not gone." Ryujin growled swimming over.

He had always listened to his father's lessons when he was growing up, always listened and played by his rules. He worshiped their savior, obeyed his every command, and always tried to make him happy. He always put the Whirlpool above his Element, above his family! He didn't understand why this was happening to him if all he ever did was obey.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER!" Ryujin yelled at their savior.

Whirlpool paid no mind to him though. Juvia had been trapped in there for four days now and with each passing second her heart bled for her lover. She tried every move, tried escaping from every direction, but she never made it out and remained trapped inside of the swirling body of water.

"RELEASE ME!" She screamed.

_"You don't deserve to be a Water Element, you have betrayed your own Element!"_

"No, you have! I read my grandfather's notes! His legacy! You created the war! You drove us apart from the Ice Elements and for what?!"

_"AND NOW YOU DARE SAY THEIR NAME IN OUR SANCTUARY!"_

"Why did you do it? Why did you force him to fight his brother?! All they wanted was to be happy together and you took that away from them! For what reason?!"

_"You humans have no possible understanding of the world around you; if you were not the heir of our Element I would strike you down right now. It's taking every ounce of me not to kill you to cleanse my waters."_

"LET! ME! GO!" Juvia screamed swimming around again.

_"I will give you the chance to, you must stay away from the Ice Elements though forever and forget about everything you know about them. Your grandfather was smart. I knew the doubt in his heart, I knew he never wanted this, but he knew what was the right thing to do unlike that Fullbuster.__ At the very end he betrayed me though as you are doing now. Out of a thousand years and all the generations, you were the one who messed up this peace. I should have known; when I saw you for the first time as a baby you had the same spirit of the first Lockster only you were not as weak as he was, like your father is... or are you? Give yourself to the waters Lockster and you shall become free."_

Juvia stopped trying to fight the water and swam with it, closing her eyes. It was that simple to escape, to live, to continue her life... the price was too much though. She wanted to se him, she wanted to see Gray and get to him so badly that tears started pouring out of her eyes. She would abandon her whole Element if it meant seeing him one last time and the Whirlpool saw that in her.

_"So that is your answer?"_

"My answer is that I love him and for you to go screw yourself!" Juvia yelled.

Before the final shot, before the strike down and the cleansing of his waters, something strange happened. The water trapping her started glowing a different color, a bright blue color, and Juvia swore she could hear a voice, her father's voice.

"You." Ryujin growled from the outside, his entire being turning a burning bright blue as he started collecting magic from his savior. His hands started gripping the water, grabbing the Whirlpool and holding it in his arms.

"Release." He heaved squeezing tight.

"MY DAUGHTER!" Ryujin yelled ripping the waters right in half.

Juvia's eyes widened as she saw her father's swimming towards her, his hand reaching out for her with panic in his eyes.

"JUVIA! LET'S GO!"

Juvia quickly swam towards him and grabbed his hand, Ryujin taking off at the speed of a raging current through the waters. He had attacked their savior, his Element would be punished for this. Ryujin had been able to do something that even his great grandfather had never been able to do and regret for the rest of his life. He was able to stand up to their savior for their family.

What now though? There was nowhere they could run where the Whirlpool wouldn't catch them. This whole domain was his playground, everything that the water was connected to the Whirlpool was connected to as well.

"That way Daddy, please." Juvia whispered.

Ryujin looked down at her and stared.

"Please... I know how to calm him. I know what to choose that will make everything right. Just please... let me see him one more time. Let me say good-bye." Juvia cried.

"Juvia." Ryujin said lightly.

On the way she explained everything to him, even about the love she held for the Ice Element she could never touch.

* * *

Gray ran his hardest trying to reach her. He could practically see her face, her smile, soon she'd be near him. Soon he'd see her, alone or in the arms of another, he didn't know. He reached the spot and started moving the snow around, seeing the ice and water underneath him. His mark starting burning, twitching. That was good, right? That meant they were connect, that the magic recognized each other.

"What are you doing son?"

So close. Oh so close. Slowly Gray turned his head around and spotted his father behind him, standing tall and serious like he should have been. Gray had stolen magic from the Iceberg and fled the castle, he could be put to death for what he done. This was the Ice Element's leader's son though and he wasn't going to do that to his own blood... he should have though. Gray got up from his knees and stood up proud and strong without a hint of regret in his eyes. He faced his father like a leader, never backing down.

"What have you done?" He asked.

"I needed the power Father."

"For what Gray? What was so important that you needed to sneak out of home and steal our savior's magic?!" Gray Sr. yelled.

"You wouldn't understand!"

"You don't think I've ever been in love?!"

Gray's entire being froze. His father sighed and walked over, digging underneath his chest plate. He pulled out a small sculpture from it and presented it to his son. It was Juvia, the one he made when he first met her.

"Where-"

"I'm at the Iceberg just as much as you are Gray, did you honestly think I wouldn't notice? Did you honestly think I wouldn't know what you were doing every time you left home?" He asked, his voice stern but soft.

"Fat-"

"What's her name son."

Gray slowly reached out and grabbed the sculpture, holding it in his hands.

"Juvia."

"And you love her?" He asked.

Gray flinched at the words love, "I don't know... I need to see her though. She's been missing, this has never happened before. She always sees me Father, but she's not here! She's not!"

Gray Sr. placed his hands on his son's shoulders and shook them.

"Calm down, this is exactly why I came with you. Gray you barely took any magic from the Iceberg, you won't be able to create a single dent in this barrier." Gray Sr. said.

Gray blinked, "barrier- Ice- Father?" He asked.

"I'm the leader of this whole land, you think I didn't know where the Water connected with the Ice? I must count you lucky though son, I've never once encountered a Water Element here." His father said taking off his coat and armor.

Gray watched as he stripped, revealing a similar black tattoo on his arm.

"Father." He whispered.

"I'd do anything to see my son happy. If this will make you happy then I will gladly help you. I would have helped you sooner only if you asked." He smiled.

"I'm sorry." Gray said, looking down at his feet.

"You will be when we get home, for now let's meet this girlfriend of yours. This is where the barrier is weakest son so we need to focus all our magic right here." He instructed.

Gray nodded and grabbed his father's hand, feeling their magic surge around them. His eyes turned an icy blue and his breath came out as ice, focusing on their target.

A glimpse of blue appeared though and he immediately fell down on his knees.

"JUVIA!" He yelled.

Juvia looked at Gray's face and thought of it as a miracle, reaching up to touch him.

"Gray." She cried.

Their fathers stood in the background, seeing the raw emotions of their children. Gray Sr. smirked while Ryujin glared before sighing lightly.

"I love you." She mouthed.

Gray couldn't hear her, he had been reading her lips enough to know what she had told him though. She loved him, she was in love with him.

"You have to know Gray, I love you. I've always loved you and I want to be with you Gray. I love you." She cried.

Gray's eyes turned cold and he leaned back slightly. Juvia's eyes widened as she tried to reach for him.

"Get back." He told her.

Juvia took it as a rejection, "Gray? Gray please-"

"GET AWAY JUVIA!" He yelled at her.

Juvia's eyes widened, tears appearing in them. She floated back, shaking her head and covering her mouth. Gray walked away from her and she felt her heart break. She ran away after that, swimming as fast as she could with her father trying to catch her. She had love him, gave him her heart and he destroyed it.

"Gray." Gray Sr. said.

"Let's do this Father, hurry." Gray said grabbing his hand.

Their magic started surging again, the ground around them shaking.

"An attack won't work, we need to absorb the ice. Not the whole thing, just a small enough hole for you to get through." Gray Sr. said.

Gray nodded and the two of them fell to their knees, both placing a hand on the ice. At the first crack Gray started crying. Happiness, sadness, he cried for everything. As the cracks got longer and louder, he actually chuckled a bit.

Juvia turned around at the small lights sparkling in the water. She saw the ice wall as far as the eye could see, but also something else. Light, bright light. Cracks of light... cracks in the ice. Her eyes widened and she went swimming back, her father forced to follow.

"Juvia!" He yelled.

"He's breaking the ice Daddy, we have to help. If we can reach the Ice Element then we'll be safe! I'll be with him!" She smiled swimming back.

"Juvia it's dangerous! We don't know the ice!" Ryujin called after her.

"Of course we do, our grandfather's brother lived up there! They'll be kind to us, please Daddy! I need your help!" Juvia begged holding out her hand.

Ryujin's eyes widened before he sighed out, grabbing his daughter's hand.

"Alright Juvia, you win. Right at the crack, give it everything you got." He told her.

Gray felt his whole being go numb, turning into ice itself. He started shivering and looked over at his father, seeing sweat run down his face as he started shaking as well.

"It's too strong." He grunted.

"Is that how weak your love is son?" Gray Sr. asked.

Gray remembered when his grandfather saw his long lost friend Lockster after so many years. The joy, the happiness, the forgiveness. He was going to break the ice right then and there and connect their worlds together again, hoping that their war didn't matter anymore, Lockster hadn't let him though. He was weak and couldn't face his friend after so many years.

Gray was weak. He was going to start being strong though.

"JUVIA!" He yelled out pouring everything he owned into his strength.

"GRAY!" Juvia yelled back hearing his voice, pouring just as much strength as he was in breaking the barrier between them.

She heard him... she heard his voice. Gray froze as he heard her own as well. She sounded... sounded nothing like he imaged. Gray started laughing, his father looking at him like he was crazy for a second and while both father and son had their guards down... the ice below them caved in.

Water was such a cold and heavy thing, suffocating. Gray and Gray Sr. couldn't swim and were stuck underwater, drowning. Juvia, with her wide smile, swam over and rescued him though. She swam like she never had before and grabbed his arms, jumping right out of the waters and onto the ice. It was cold and hard, scrapping her skin a little bit as she landed. She was on the ice though, she was on the ice.

"I guess that means I'm stuck with the other man." Ryujin mumbled saving the boy's father.

The air felt thin around her and was sort of hard to breath, not unbearable though. She didn't know how long she could breath in this ice world, for now though all she was focus on was Gray. He felt cold to the touch, so very cold, but also soft and warm at the same time. His eyes were closed, his wet hair sticking to his forehead and skin. He looked so much handsomer than usually without the ice between them. Her heart started soaring as she dared to hope, dared to speak the words that she's been wanting to tell him for so very long now. Words that were rushed before because she feared for her life in the waters. Word she could say with ease now she was with him.

"I love you Gray." She cried tears of happiness, brushing his sticky hair away from his face.

His eyes opened immediately as he started coughing out the water that filled his lungs. His black eyes started shining like crystals as he blinked slowly, meeting bright aqua blue ones. He never noticed it until now staring face to face with her, but her eyes look bright like the Iceberg's crystal glow. Her skin was as pale as ice, her eyes as bright as her, her smile strangely warm. That's the only thing that would have gave her away at his Element, other than her bright blue hair, how warm her smile was. Juvia smile seemed to keep stretching wider as she touched him. He felt like what she felt like, different though. Gray took a deep breath as he inhaled the cold air and sighed back out.

"Water... can't say I like it very much."

Juvia let out a beautiful carefree laugh that made Gray shiver. It's been a year, a year and finally he was able to hear her voice. He barely noticed her hand stroking his hand, her other hand squeezing his biceps to make sure he was actually alive. Everything just felt so nature, like it always was like this.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't imagine you with a voice like this." He chuckled.

He always pictured something more elegant with the way Juvia moved, something lighter, not this smooth and slightly deep voice she had. It suited her though, very much.

"You have the voice I always dreamed about." Juvia whispered lightly.

The two father's Lockster and Fullbuster stood in the background, feeling a great deal out of place. The two of them were freezing, but dared not voice anything not wanting to ruin their child's first meeting with each other. So they stood together side by side, completely invisible to their children. Juvia and Gray never broke eye contact, some sort of smile on each other their faces. Juvia's chest moved rapidly up and down, she didn't know if it was because it was hard to breath or if it was because she was so close to Gray. She felt herself freezing, the water she was soaked in slowly turning into ice.

"Ice is much colder than water, much colder. I didn't think that was possible." Juvia told him.

Gray nodded, looking down all of a sudden. "Your water was cold, I nearly froze to death."

He laughed awkwardly and Juvia merely smiled at him.

"I'm sorry I sent you away, I didn't want to hurt you by accident." He told her.

"I know."

"I'm glad I can finally see you though, you're... you're pretty warm compared to the water." He stuttered.

Ryujin shook his head while Gray Sr. groaned. His son was chocking out there, badly. He tried to think back on if he ever taught his son how to talk to a girl or ask one out. His mind came to a blank. Thankful Juvia took after her father's side and knew what she wanted, when she wanted.

"Gray, this is nice and all, but you aren't saying what I want to hear." Juvia whispered, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Right." Gray blushed, clearing his throat.

The moment was here. Finally face to face with her, he knew what he was feeling. He knew what he wanted to stay and wanted to hit himself for not saying it the second he held her in his arms. Gray leaned up and wrapped his strong arms around her, pressing her against his chest.

"I didn't want to say this between a wall of ice, but Juvia... I-"

...

...

...


	26. See You Soon

**BlackLynx17: Hey... not much to say... but if I may... it's a beautiful day.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 26

See You Soon

* * *

Unlike Ice and Water, Sky and Lightning had spend their year separated from one another. Neither had ever gone back to that spot in the sky where she seemed to stand in mid-air while he seemed to be floating on a cloud. It was a year filled with hardships of suddenly getting thrown into leadership, and also filled with loneliness. For the Lightning he'd always just feel the urge that he had to be somewhere right now while for the Sky... whenever she'd see the sun setting her heart would set as well as she believed she'd had to return home even when she was at home. It was tough, they lived on though. One better than the other, the one in the worse situation surprisingly better.

Doranbolt had his face against the Lightning Cloud, not that he was trying to kill himself by suffocating against it though. Over the past year this savior of a cloud had become his best friend. He was still at war with his own Element, some people still not accepting him as their true king while others simply got over it and just ignored him. No one liked him anymore, no one but their savior. After a stressful day, after everyday actually stressful or not, he was always here. Even though he's yet to have a back and forth conversation with the Lightning Cloud, he was still nice company.

"So I've been thinking real long and hard about it and I think I'm actually going to destroy the secret library after all." Doranbolt told the cloud.

He got a shock, it was a small warning one though.

"I know, but hear me out. We, our Element... there's a reason why our history only goes as far as Mavis Dreyar and it's a good one. I don't think anyone should know the past."

He got shocked even harder this time.

"Alright, alright, it's because I feel guilty of my ancestors alright? You've been there, you saved all of us, we... no wonder Sky Elements think we're demons. I've tried to think things through, perhaps try and contact the Sky Elements to make up things for them, although they have no idea of what we've done to them, but it's just..."

"No matter how many times I see it, I still don't believe it. Great King Gryder, the once nonbeliever of the Lightning Cloud, actually talking to it."

The Lighting Cloud started to get electrified making Doranbolt leap off of it;. he glared at Laxus walking up to him as he leaned back against the calming cloud.

"Shut up, first of all it's a him and second you're pissing him off." Doranbolt said patting his friend.

Laxus walked over and touched the Lightning Cloud, not feeling anything but a cloud. Doranbolt felt something though, a small shock running through his hand; he flinched and slapped Laxus's hand away.

"Stop, he doesn't like your touch."

"Your family was always destined to take the crown, you realize that right? It was a mistake of your grandfather to back down, our savior obviously picked your family. Now that you know the Lost History, you realize why we begin with Mavis Dryer. What I don't understand is why our grandfather didn't beat Mavis, just let her have the crown without a fight."

"Because he had nothing to fight for Laxus. He knew regardless of the leader, him or her, that their Element would be taken care of. My great grandfather knew how much Mavis wanted it and loved her enough to give it to her without a second hesitation, like I always did for you Laxus. I never cared about the throne because you always did such a wonderful job protecting us all."

Laxus snorted, "what job? The worst we have are thunderstorms and our Element love those. Still, you really were always holding back on me weren't you? Heh, I was thinking back when we were kids and how we always used to race. I remember, I never once won one of those matches until they started to really count."

"Laxus... I'm thinking of burning the library."

Doranbolt yelped as he got shocked and finally walked far away from the Lightning Cloud, cursing loudly as he kept his distance.

"I can understand why, just make sure it's for the right reason when you do it. I take it you finished reading everything?"

"Is that why you agreed so easily to the marriage? Because of what, of what we've done?"

"Not us Doranbolt, our ancestors. We've done nothing wrong in our lifetime."

Doranbolt snorted, "speak for yourself. I've stolen the crown, found a long lost Element and revealed all our secrets, plus I'm about to destroy 400 years of missing history, probably even longer just because of my selfishness."

"You took a crown that was rightfully yours, most of our Elements have forgiven you, especially me after I learned that the Lightning Cloud chose you. You found an EXTINCT Element, which is great news in fact and simply learned about each other, and you haven't destroyed the history yet so we've done nothing wrong... you still miss that little Sky Element, huh?"

"It's been a long time, she probably doesn't even remember me." Doranbolt said lightly.

"I'm sure she's saying the same thing now. I notice when you stare off in the distance Doranbolt, I still don't understand why you didn't just marry her."

"I didn't love her Laxus, and if I did it was only as a friend."

"Love would have came later, if you agreed then you could have seen her for a little while longer."

"Delaying the inevitable."

Laxus rolled his head around and rubbed the back of his neck, "you do realize she is the first girl you've ever shown interest in and has been since? Sounds to me like that's something special."

Doranbolt was silent before he screamed out loudly, long and hard. Laxus chuckled at his way of release and waited until he was finished.

"None of it matters anymore! So let's just drop it!" He said happily, "It's all over now! Wendy is nothing more than a memory, that's all. She's gone, so let's just focus on finding me someone here and now! And maybe training a little, that last race you almost beat me Laxus. I think I'm loosing my quickness." Doranbolt said walking off.

"You never tried to visit her again, did you?" He said out of nowhere.

Doranbolt froze for a second.

"Did you ever wonder if she was visiting you? Waiting for you at the spot you still haven't showed me, wanting to meet you?"

"Nope, not after the words we exchanged that day." Doranbolt said.

"Last question Doranbolt then we can go drinking and pick of some chicks; do you ever want to see her again?"

Doranbolt took a deep breath and teleported off, leaving Laxus behind in the dust. He arrived at the throne room, sitting down on his throne and sulking. What a stupid question, of course he does. Every single day he's wanted to see her. He wondered if she changed at all? If being Queen was natural to her? Being King was hard with all the mess talked about him, but he was able to pull through it. No one would hate Wendy, she was so kind and so beautiful.

"Queen Marvell, I wonder what you're doing right now."

* * *

Queen Marvell sat in her throne, jumping up and down as she waited for the good news. She was waiting for her mother to come back with the key ingredient she's been working on this past year. Its been a while, its taken a long time, but finally, finally, she was about to see her best friend again. She jumped up and down, giggling as she simply started flying around the room until her mother entered.

Wendy landed back on her throne with a thump, smiling excitedly at her Porlyusica. She simply stared at her and rolled her eyes, walking over to her over excited daughter. Holding up a small box, she placed in on Wendy's lap and sighed.

"Does this mean I can be expecting a wedding in the future?" Porlyusica asked.

"I don't know Mother, it might." Wendy giggled before blushing. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"Wendy... I've know you've been working very hard to try and make everyone understand the Lightning Elements, but there still must be some kind of union to ensure our peace. You are Queen now so you ultimately decide everything, this one thing seems very... selfish though."

"Mom, I know what I'm doing. You can trust me." Wendy said lightly.

Porlyusica nodded and turned around, quickly excusing herself.

"Ask the Cloud for guidance and good luck on your journey. That potion simply creates a crack, you'll have to use your magic to help you with the rest so make sure to stock up on air."

"Thank you Mom."

Wendy giggled as she stared at the small box, wiping all the negative emotions from her mind. She was going to see Doranbolt, her goal for the past year. She wasn't only going to see him though, she was going to unite their skies and bring their Elements together. Lightning and Sky were going to be one. She was exited, happy, words echoed into her mind though.

Words that told her Doranbolt didn't want to see her, had forgotten about her, and moved on without her. Wendy... wouldn't mind if those were true. She just... there wasn't enough time. Her mother was right, this was a rather selfish thing, but if she didn't speak with him again then she knew this would be a regret. A regret for the rest of her life and Wendy didn't want to live with that. She didn't. So she quickly flew off to the Cloud, eating air on the way until she landed softly on top and started rolling around.

"Cloud! Cloud! Wish me luck on my journey, I'm about to try and break the barrier between us and unite our Element! Though I'm sure you know, you can see everything that happens in our home. I'm finally about to see D-..."

Wendy started feeling light headed. She blinked, her vision slighted, and fell back into the Cloud, it consuming her whole.


	27. Lost History

**BlackLynx17: ****Thanks for reviewing everybody. FALCON PUNCH! You know, I always thought it was Falco Punch, like Falco from Star Fox, but it wasn't... lol.**

**I wrote that author's note thrice! Thrice because I kept changing things in the chapter so I didn't want to spoil anything!**

**...**

**...**

**THREE TIMES!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 27

Lost History

* * *

_There was a town in Earthland, a beautiful small unknown town. It was located between two hills decorated by flowers, perfectly hidden from dangers that would want to harm the residents of this loving town. Every evening the winds would blow, making flowers petals fly high and dance across the skies. Humans, not Elements, lived there in peace with one another and things were perfect. This was back when the world wasn't so perfect though. One day, a stranger had wandered into town. He was hurt and injured, and being the caring townspeople they were, they healed him and helped him recover. He left in high health, only to come back with others. It was dark and cloudy that day, black clouds hovering over the town. The others this one man brought back were like him, injured, down, mad at life for all its thrown at them. They wanted peace and this town would be the perfect place to find their peace with its out of sight location; there they would be safe._

_Instead of asking to be accepted though, they took their town by force. The townspeople stood no match against their intruders, these people had special powers. They have been graced with lightning, bringing the thunderclouds with them as they invaded. It was a massacre for those who did not surrender, who actually tried to stand up on their own. In the end the higher species one, the Lightning Elements took control and made these people their slaves. The leaders of this group was named Gryder and Dreyar. _

_Centuries passed and one girl was born, a Marvell. She prayed day in and day out to the clouds for her family to be saved only on the days her clouds would appear, the bright white ones that always seemed a tad pink. The dark ones had her staying inside, scared for her life. One day her prayers were answered when an Exceed fell from the heavens. This Marvell had taken her into her home, raised her, nursed her back to health, and in return she gifted her with wings._

_It was a true miracle, a true miracle. Her people would be saved, saved. Exceeds snuck into the town and met with the soon to be Sky Elements, teaching them magic and explaining the better life. Once everyone was ready, they flew into the skies into freedom. I saved them, I saved them all. Your people, your ancestors were enslaved by these Lightning Elements you try and meet now. I kept you hidden for years, never letting the night grace your presence again. He wouldn't let me go though, he graced his Elements with flight as well and chased after me. That's why the barriers are in place, so we wouldn't ever have to deal with those demons again. And yet you are trying to bring them into our heaven?! Our safe haven?! All because of this infatuation with a Lightning Element?! Well love doesn't exist! It does not! And I won't let you ruin the hard work I've been doing for all of the Sky Elements for the past 1000 YEARS!_

* * *

_Date:XXX_

_They're gone. They left. We saw them, we all saw them fly into the sky. It was truly a magnificent thing to watch. Finally, they were free from us. All my life I've lived in regret, those people saved my life. They saved me. What did I do in return? I brought back my family, hoping we'd be welcome. Dreyar didn't understand though, he didn't want to. He's been hurt far too long; peace seemed like a far away dream. I regretted coming back to this town, I always have. They were free now though, free to do whatever, go wherever they wanted without us to follow. I never got to thank my saviors again, I never got to apologize for my people's actions. I hope the day will come when I can though, and if not, a day where my grandchildren and great grandchildren can do so for me. Thank you for saving me Marvell, thank you for picking me up on the side of the road. I'm sorry for bringing back disaster, all I wanted was a safe place to lay my head. I hope you can forgive me for everything, I pray you can._

_\- Gryder_

* * *

Doranbolt closed the book and rubbed his eyes, groaning lightly. No matter how many times he read it, it always made him feel guilty inside. He shouldn't have, it wasn't his fault, but the pain was still there. If anything this was the reason he wanted to meet Wendy, to meet a Marvell. To thank and apologize for his he-didn't-know-how-great great grandfather. They had finally found peace though, they had finally been able to get away from their captures. Slaves. His Element treated her Element like slaves.

"It must have been fate that we met, but curse that we are now separate." Doranbolt mumbled to himself.

The lost history was now found to him. Earthland, his ancestors home, a hellish place. His Elements were weak, just like Wendy's Elements, and moved along with the lightning clouds to scare off predators. Along the way they were blessed with lightning abilities, become the Lightning Elements. His grandfather had gotten lost from his family though, all alone fighting for himself and stumbling into her town. After being there for a week he knew this was the place where they've been looking for and left to get his family. This place could be their sanctuary.

Dreyar though, Dreyar... even though he knew his cousin's family, knew they weren't like what they used to be, Doranbolt was just so happy that he wouldn't have to worry about the Dreyar's messing with the Sky Elements ever again. That is why they had to be burned, that is why no one else could read the history, because what if a Dreyar read it and thought that the Sky Elements still belonged to them? Whose to say they won't try and take them back? It wasn't impossible, and if his son couldn't beat Laxus's then the new Dreyar King could be the one who does it, or his son, or his daughter.

Why was he thinking so hard about this? Everything was over now. Wendy was over, the Sky Elements were over, history was in the past and the only thing that mattered was the present where Doranbolt watching over his kingdom and Elements. Life needed to move on, he needed to move on. What a better way could that be than drinking with his cousin and picking up chicks like they were supposed to do last time?

_STOP!_

Doranbolt fell back into his seat and clutched his head, wondering what the hell was that?! He stopped and stayed still, trying to hear that voice again. Nothing happened, when he stood back up though he heard it again.

_STAY STILL!_

"AHHH!" Doranbolt yelled falling back once again.

It sounded as if someone well electrocuting his brain-... electrocuting?

"Lighting Cloud?!" He yelled out.

There was no answer, no sounds, no winds. Whenever he would get up though, a bolt of electricity would hit him so Doranbolt just stayed still. It turned into hours, soon he took a nap and it became the next day. He couldn't move though, Lightning Cloud would not let him. The next day Laxus came strolling in, just staring at his miserable friend.

"What happened to drinking last night?"

"Laxus, I cannot leave this seat." Doranbolt told him.

Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"I'm being dead serious, every time I do I get the Lighting Cloud's voice in my head yelling at me to stay still and this electricity running through me. It hurts. I don't know what to do."

Laxus suddenly blinked, "Are you being serious?"

"I'm being dead serious Laxus, I don't kno-"

The doors to the throne room suddenly slammed open as an elder came running in, panting loudly.

"My King, I just came from the Lightning Cloud and it's gone array! Lightning is coming out of every part of it and the clouds around it are started to react; our savior has doubled in size and is going crazy!"

"I believe that's my fault." Doranbolt sighed running his hands through his hair.

"Excuse me?!" Elder spoke.

"He's been communicating with the Lightning Cloud, it's been telling him not to leave this throne for some reason and every time he tries to he get's shocked."

"Wha- This never happened when the Dreyar's were kings."

Doranbolt sighed and rolled his eyes, Laxus on the other hand would not take that lying down.

"Well the Dreyar's were never able to communicate with the Lightning Cloud either! Whatevers happening is big, maybe our survival big, and if it was me sitting right here on this throne then I would have left! Because the Lightning Cloud certainly wouldn't have talked to me! And that is no way you should talk to your king! Insubordination!"

The elder started stumbling over his words before he backed away and bowed, scurrying off of the room. Doranbolt sighed out again, pinching the bridge between his eyes.

"Why'd you go and do that Laxus? Now he's going to start telling everybody." Doranbolt asked.

"Because you need to start standing up for yourself! You're king Doranbolt! I never took shit from them!"

"I'm sure they never had shit to give you, they all love you."

"Doranbolt if you keep thinking like a subject and less like a king then they'll continue to walk over you. Be assertive, order some people around. Have them fear you."

"Alright, let's continue this when, I don't know, I'm not glued to my seat? Until then though, let's focus on this problem at hand." Doranbolt said.

Laxus started at him and his seat, raising an eyebrow. He walked over and behind Doranbolt's seat, lifting up his foot.

"Laxus? What are you-"

He was got off as his chair flew ten feet forward, him nearly falling out of it if he didn't lean back.

"WHAT THE HELL LAXUS?!" Doranbolt yelled.

"Did you get shocked?" Laxus asked.

"NO! BUT-... Hey, I didn't... so that just means I have to stay in this chair for the rest of my life... hahahaha." Doranbolt laughed monotonous.

Laxus rolled his eyes, "I think Lightning Cloud just doesn't want you leaving the room. I'm sure if I kicked you outside the door, he'd kill you or something."

"Then don't, and move my chair back. I want my back against a wall to see everything around me." Doranbolt said jumping backwards carrying his chair with him.

"Well then Doranbolt, give me a few minutes. I'll be right back." Laxus said walking out.

"Back?" Doranbolt asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to bring a chair and some drinks for us to pass the time."

"You're... you're going to wait with me?" Doranbolt asked surprised.

"All the times you hung around my lazy ass? The least I can do for you."

Doranbolt chuckled while Laxus smirked and left the room.

"Well Lightning Cloud, you got your wish. I'm sitting tight. Whatever happening, hurry up and make it happen."


	28. Colors

**BlackLynx17: HOORAY FOR MENDY! DO-DO-DO-DOOOO! Hi everyone, I'm super tired! I was able to update for all of you though, so please thank me with a review. Thanks. Ciao.**

**!For those who do not understand Mendy! **

**So the truth of the matter is we don't know Doranbolt's real age. We believe, me and a bunch of other Mendy fans who have discussed this, he was around 16-18 when he first joined Fairy Tail because honestly he looks that young. If you look at him before and after the timeskip he changes dramatically, like from a little boy to a man. If you look at Lahar he didn't really change at all, just getting a little bit muscular, meaning that he was already old and an adult when he was first introduced before the timeskip and most likely Doranbolt was his student or something. During the incident on Tenroujima Doranbolt seemed very much like a rebellious teenager trying to save Fairy Tail, so we thought that it might have been his first undercover mission for the council considering how desperate he seemed to prove himself. ****We believe that Doranbolt was like Eve, who is apart of Blue Pegasus, and that maybe they went to the Council training together so we believe their ages are similar. We do not see Wendy and Doranbolt as a man and a child, but two teenagers with at least, at least a four-five years difference. Yes the timeskip has made them even older, but if you ignore that fact they are good together.**

**If that is not a good enough explanation to explain why we love Doranbolt and Wendy together, well then just call it a guilty pleasure for us. I don't understand why people ship who they ship either, I just accept that they love who they love and I love who I love. If you hate this couple you also hate Kyoko and Ren together from Skip Beat, four or five I can't remember, Ikuto and Amu together, SEVEN years difference (she was in elementary, he in high school), Serena and Darien from Sailor Moon! HE WAS IN COLLEGE! COLLEGE! AND SHE WAS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL! Black Butler! Who knows how old Sebastian really is! And I can't think of any others, but if I do I will post up. Anyways, thanks for reading. Mendy for life!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 28

Colors

* * *

Wendy woke up surrounded by clouds. No matter how hard she tried to fight, she couldn't escape the clouds around her. So instead, she tried eating them. Minutes later she got full and relaxed into the clouds, closing her eyes peacefully. What was she doing though? Wasn't she going to meet Doranbolt? Wendy's eyes shot wide open as she moved around, feeling around her pockets for the small elixir. When she found it under her dress she sighed out in relief and tried to remember what had happened.

The last thing she did was talk to Cloud and then she had the strangest dream ever, about... about demons, no not demons, it was about the Lightning Elements and they were, they were-

_That wasn't a dream, it was what really happened a long time ago._

Wendy looked around, "who are you?!"

_Your savior, who lifted you up and broke the chains of slavery._

Wendy blinked softly, "Cloud?"

_I saved you, saved your kind, brought you to a better place, and yet you want to reunite Lightning and Sky? They enslaved our kind! They treated us like animals! And yet you want to break the barrier all because you're in love!_

"So that all wasn't a dream, thank you Cloud for filling in the blank spots of our history."

_ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!_

"I am, and now that I can talk to you thank you for everything you've done for our people. Thank you for saving us, keeping the sun always shining for us, and loving us for so long. I want you to know that my people love you as well, I especially love you Cloud. Thanks for everything."

_... you're welcome._

"And about the Lightning Elements, I've forgiven them."

_FORGIVEN THEM?! FORGIVEN THEM! YOU WERE SLAVES!_

"We can't focus on the past though Cloud. These things happened a thousand years ago, people can change. I know you can see my memories, you know I thought Doranbolt was a demon. After a while though, he was just like me. He's changed, and if he can treat me like I would treat him, maybe his Element are the same way."

_And you're willing to risk getting enslaved all over again on this maybe?_

"Yes, because I believe in them. I believe in my heart."

_Well I'm not. I've been avoiding him for a thousand years, watching over all of you and I'm not about to let all of that go to waste. So you are going to stay here in this prison until I can see that you've given up hope on that savage of an Element._

"Then we're going to be seeing each other for a long, long time because I don't think that will ever change."

_Why do you think I supply you with a comfy bed and food then? Though you're trying to ruin your Element, I still love you Wendy. I'm doing what I believe is best for our Element._

Wendy blinked softly, "you know what Cloud, I've been telling the same thing to myself so I know when I'm being lied to. I know I'm being selfish, I honestly believe some good may come though, but you only see the bad. You don't see any good things about uniting the two Elements, so what are you trying to hide? Or are you scared of the Lightning Elements as well?"

She was not replied back too so Wendy must have struck some nerve. She tried eating her way out again, and then tried sprouting her wings and flying out of here. None of those worked, not even when she tried her strongest moves and attacked. She stayed trapped in these fluffy with no such luck or clue on how to get out at all.

_Why did you tell everyone the truth of the Lightning Elements?_

"Because if I wanted to unite the two Elements I needed my Element to be prepared and not scared like I was. I believed my Element could overcome their fear, and they have. Though it took a long time, I was able to reach all of them."

_They could be lies, hearing one thing and seeing another has different reactions. Just because they believe your stories doesn't mean they'll believe them when they're face to face with them._

"I believe in my Element."

_Believe, believe, sometimes believing is not good enough. You'll learn that when you're older, when you're in love... or actually, you've already experienced that. You believed in your little Lightning Element, right? And yet he never tried to see you, nor visit you even once. How did that not crush your belief system?_

"Because I still have hope. Hope that the day will come when he does, hope that when I see him he'll be happy and ask me what took so long? And you don't have to worry about anything Cloud, I won't tell him it was your fault." Wendy giggled.

_Hehehehe, you Marvell's always had so much spunk. Even you-..._

Wendy hummed and blinked, waiting for the rest of the sentence. Nothing happened though, not a word. Wendy thought she offended the Cloud again and started relaxing, all of a sudden though she heard something. Screams, calls... it was muffled, but she heard her name.

"HELLO?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "ANYONE! I'M TRAPPED IN HERE! HELP! PLEASE! HELP!"

All of a sudden something soft grabbed her hand and she was flying through the clouds. The sun came shining out and wings were glowing a soft white and blue color from the reflection of the rays, a bright smile appearing on Wendy's face as she saw her three best friends flying her away.

"Happy! Charlie! Pantherlily!"

Her three Exceed friends all smiled down at her before flying off at an even faster pace.

"But how?!"

"You've been missing for two days Wendy, the whole kingdom has been looking for you!" Charlie said.

"We thought you got lost in the Lightning Element Kingdom, but Queen Porlyusica told us that the barrier was still intact." Pantherlily said.

"Yeah, then she told us the last place she told for you to visit was the Cloud so when we arrived and didn't see you, Charlie said she had a feeling you were still here so we dove straight into the cloud and heard you calling us!"

"And now here we are Wendy, now would you like to explain why in Cloud you disappeared?!"

Wendy giggled as she sprouted her own wings, flying on her on.

"It's a long story guys and we don't have much time! We have to hurry up and break the barrier, so if you don't mind making our savior Cloud your worst enemy, follow me!" Wendy laughed diving way down underneath all the clouds.

The three Exceeds followed and Wendy threw off her crown and robes, feeling free in her simply purple dress as she enjoyed the wind whip past her. She pulled the elixir from under her dress and stared at the contents. This little thing was going to break the barrier? Wendy thought and shrugged lightly. It was a surprise to see her mother standing there, waiting for her.

"Mom?" Wendy asked.

"Wendy, my goodness where have you been?!" She asked pulling her into a hug.

"It's a long story Mom, but if I don't do this now I won't have another chance to. If you'll please excuse me, I need to hurry." Wendy said.

Porlyusica took a deep breath and kissed her daughter's forehead, "I thought the Lightning Elements got to you. I waited and waited for him to come, to see if he's seen you."

"Mom, I'm sorry to have worried you. Please though, I need to do this. Please, this is my only chance."

Porlyusica took a step back away from her daughter and took the small bottle away. For a second Wendy thought her mother was on the Cloud's side, that she was going to take her one hope away from her and leave her. That didn't happen though. Porlyusica broke the vial onto the barrier and watched as cracks started surfacing around her.

"You're going to be out of magic if you try and break this, remember you're still fairly new to your wings though they have improved. Charlie, Pantherlily, Happy, can I count on you three to watch over my daughter?"

"Of course!" Charlie said.

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

"It'll be an honor." Pantherlily said.

Porlyusica smiled lightly and looked at Wendy, "I'm proud to be your mother Wendy and I always wanted the best things to happen to you, I know you know what you're doing. I hope it'll turn out the way you want it too though."

"It will Mom, I believe it will."

"Then I'll believe in you as well. Now fly up, Once it breaks you'll need to go in immediately." Polyusica said flying up a little bit.

Wendy and her Exceeds all followed after, watching as their former Queen eyes turned a darker shade of red as she summoned her powers.

"Are you ready for all possibilities Wendy?" Charlie asked.

Wendy took a deep breath and nodded her head, "I'm ready."

No sooner than when she said it her mother blasted out a powerful hurricane, it landing directly on the crack marks. The barrier burst into pieces and Wendy started laughing as she flew right in, into the black clouds that covered the sky in the distance. Her mother sighed lightly, wiping her forehead off a little as she stood on the unbroken pieces of the barrier.

"Not even a thank you." She sighed and shook her head at her daughter.

Meanwhile Happy was sticking close to Pantherlily, Charlie close to Wendy as they flew though the night. Electricity sounded funny, strange to their ears and even started scaring Pantherlily, him clinging to Happy instead of the opposite.

"Doranbolt?! Doranbolt!" Wendy yelled out.

She was just entering the thunderstorms, remembering the stories of how far the barrier was from his kingdom. It wasn't really a distance to him though, since he was so fast, but it was sure to take a while for her. Wendy often looked back, staring at her companions. At one point when Pantherlily and Happy looked to scared to move on, she flew back and carried them as she went forward.

"My Queen!" Pantherlily called.

"Wendy!" Happy said.

"I'm sorry you two, just a while longer though." Wendy told them.

She saw homes made from black clouds instead of white like her in her kingdom, Elements wearing dark clothes instead of white, children playing around with electricity instead of air. She flew over them all, looking for the farthest cloud in the distance with the biggest buildings, electricity looming out of it.

"Wow." Happy whispered in awe.

"Weird." Pantherlily said.

"You were right Wendy, they look just like us." Charlie said lightly.

Wendy stared at the Lightning Elements, wondering where hers was. She flew off and something straight happened, clouds seemed to part. It brought out a commotion from the Elements, making them scream and shout, but the clouds led a path to the castle cloud in the distance. It was strange... Wendy felt like she should follow it though, so she did. It led her high up, deeper into the thunderclouds until there was only one home visible.

"That's it." She whispered before flying even faster.

Wendy flew through the clouded doors and came inside of a grand room with several hallways extending all around her. She flew around and passed each one, each of them looking like the previous with black clouds and fluffiness. There was no one here, no one around, no one to question or ask. Wendy flew back into the middle of the room and allowed her friends to fly again.

"Alright, we're looking for Doranbolt. About really tall, green eyes, tanish skin color, hair on his chin here and kind of arrogant sounding. Call me if you find him." Wendy said.

"Yes." Happy, Charlie, and Pantherlily said nodding their heads.

Without another look the four Sky Elements all flew their separate ways, looking for the King of the Lightning Elements.

* * *

Doranbolt was on high alert, something itching inside of him. He stopped what he was doing and started observing the room, looking all around him for the presence that was bothering him. Laxus hummed lightly, looking over towards him out the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you just... feel something?"

"Must be Lightning Cloud shocking you again."

"No Laxus, something seriously just happened. Something... what's going on?"

"Doranbolt, calm down. Nothing has happened; if something did then the elders would have come running in complaining and yelling their heads off. Do we see that happening?"

Doranbolt looked at the door, nothing.

"It's been two days since you've glued to your seat; I think you might be going a little cra-"

"DORANBOLT! DORANBOLT! DORANBOLT!" His name echoed outside the hall.

Doranbolt stared at Laxus and he stared right back at him. The door suddenly opened and this blue thing came flying in, the strangest thing though was that Doranbolt knew who that blue thing was. Blue fur, bright eyes, wings, a small green bag on his back.

"Happy?" Doranbolt asked standing up.

Happy looked hearing his name, "aye?"

Doranbolt blinked, half laughing to himself. "Really? You're Happy?"

"Gasps! Are you Doranbolt?!" Happy asked.

And before Doranbolt could respond, Happy flew out of the room. Laxus looked back and forth between Doranbolt and the door.

"I take it you knew that thing?"

Doranbolt slowly nodded his head, putting these strand of events together. Exceeds didn't live in Lightning Elements, but with the Sky Elements. So if Happy, an Exceed, was here, that meant the barrier between them must have shattered. That could have been that strange feeling Doranbolt was just feeling a while ago, and if that happened then that must mean that someone broke it meaning... meaning...

Wendy was here somewhere. Wendy was here... she was here.

"WENDY!" Doranbolt yelled at the top of his lungs running for the door.

He ran straight into something that made him fly back, landing on the floor in pain. Doranbolt grunted loudly and saw stars when his eyes opened up, but he gained back focus, he saw blue instead. Dark blue with bright brown eyes. They stared right back at him along with a beautiful and bright smile.

"Your hair grew." She said softly reaching for it.

Of course it would, its been a year, he wanted to tell her, but words seemed to fail. Doranbolt lifted up his hand and poked her cheek, checking to see if she was really here. The weight on his chest with her on top of him didn't seem enough to convince him. She looked exactly the same, smiling brightly at him as she giggled.

"Wendy." He whispered softly.

Wendy giggled again, "so you do remember. What about my favorite color?"

Doranbolt grunted as he moved from underneath her, "it's been a year and the first conversation you want us to have is what your favorite color is?"

"Well I couldn't remember if I told you or not, I can't remember yours."

Doranbolt couldn't help but laugh as he leaned up slightly, running his hand through her hair before cuffing her cheek.

"It's blue."

She smiled, "I could have guessed that."

He chuckled and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against her own. Their noses touched and Wendy blushed a bright pink as Doranbolt stared directly into her eyes. Their company, the once great king and three Exceeds who were watching quietly in the background, slowly averted their eyes though they kept peeking back. Wendy felt flustered under his gaze and whispered.

"Green."

"I could have guessed that."

Wendy smiled carefully at him and placed her hand on his chest.

"Doranbolt?"

"Hmm." He hummed softly closing his eyes.

He tried focusing all on her, making sure this wasn't a dream, that she was really here in his arms.

"I need to tell you something, about before. The last time we saw each other, you asked if I'd want to marry you. Well, the thing was I actually-"

...

...

...


	29. Prayer

**BlackLynx17: Modsterr... thank you. Thumbs up to you. **

**HERE WE ARE EVERYBODY! LAST TIME ON ELEMENTS OF THE HEART STING TURNED OUT TO BE EVIL AND HE'S GOING TO MARRY LUCY!**

***readers scream***

**BUT WE'RE GOING TO FIND OUT IF NATSU CAN GET THERE ON TIME! WILL HE? FIND OUT IN THIS CHAPTER OF! ELEMENTS! OF! THE HEART!**

**...**

**...**

**In case any of you were wondering, I was talking like that English narrator for Dragon Ball Z when they always show you the preview of the episode before the episode... it's funnier to read if you imagine that voice while reading... I watch too much anime.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 29

Prayer

* * *

In the year nothing at all changed for the Fire and Light Elements. Nothing at all. No one in the Light Element found out about the Fire, none of the elements learned the truth about their heir's sin against the Light, they all remained clueless and happy while in the Fire... in the Fire Element... you could say a spark struck. Their chief wasted no time in helping his son reconnect with the Light Element and told their story far and wide to all his Elements in their land. Each and every single one of them were trying to help the young chief anyway that they could, and in the beginning things really looked up... in the beginning.

Natsu threw his book down on the table, covering his face with his hands. He's been reading since the early morning, but no matter how much he reread these books nothing changed. Nothing was added. Nothing was different. He was exactly where he was for the past ten months, stuck in a rut. No matter what they did, no matter how many Elements helped, Natsu could not find anything close to the answer to his troubles.

Lucy.

There hadn't been a single day that's gone by where he didn't think of his best friend. The worst thing about their separation had to be that he couldn't tell her his feelings as well. To be stuck here, knowing that she loved him, and that he wasn't able to tell her the same. It must be worst for her, not knowing his answer. Always wondering, always questioning...

"Natsu, take a break." Kai said walking over to his son.

"Yeah, okay." Natsu sighed getting up from his seat.

He followed his father outside of the library and up the mountain path, towards the volcano where their savior was. It became a routine between the two of them. Natsu would work hard and study whatever he could and then Kai would come to give him a break and the two would enjoy a moment of peace with their savior.

"Natsu, it's not over yet. We still have some time."

"We have barely a month. I'm not giving up hope yet Dad, but to face reality the chances of me getting to her before her wedding is slim."

"Slim, but not impossible. We'll figure this out Natsu, we always do."

Natsu sighed and stuck his hand into the Inferno, letting the flames engulfing him into what he believed was a hug. He let the flames warm him and covered his face with his hands again. He wondered what Lucy was doing now. If she was having fun, if she had actually falling for Sting. He didn't think so, Lucy loved him. She wouldn't betray him like that; Lucy was waiting for him right now. Natsu could feel it in his heart, she was right there with him. Smiling, looking beautiful, waiting. Tears started falling in the corner of his eyes, but the flames burned them up making no one notice.

"I miss her Dad." Natsu whimpered.

"I know, I know, we're trying everything Natsu. We'll get to her."

"But its been so long, I'm tired."

"Dragneel's don't give up Natsu, we will find a way. If this girl loves you like you say she does then there's no need to worry. She'll wait for you."

"I just want to see her Dad."

Flames tickled his lips and Natsu opened his mouth wide, gobbling them up. It seems that their savior would always offer himself to Natsu whenever he came over, always engulfing him with its flames and sticking close to Natsu. It was strange, Natsu didn't think anything of it though. He knew his savior loved him.

"I know you are in pain, but could you stop eating our savior!" Kai yelled kicking his son.

"OUCH! I'm in pain here! And Inferno is offering himself to me, I don't know what you are talking about!" Natsu yelled.

"Yeah right! Our savior is not meant to be eaten Natsu! He's meant to be worshiped!"

"You don't believe me?! Fine!" Natsu said walking away from their savior.

He stood a few feet away with his mouth open and waiting for the flames to come cling to him. Kai blinked and watched with curiosity. Inferno's flames flew out to Natsu and clung to him, Natsu taking a few bites as he raised his eyebrow at his father.

"Told you, it's like he's forcing me to do it." Natsu said.

"Natsu... JUST BECAUSE OUR SAVIOR IS OFFERING ITSELF DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN JUST EAT HIM!" Kai yelled smacking him around again.

"OW! If I knew you were going to hit me I wouldn't have eaten it." Natsu growled rubbing his head.

"Hmm, it is strange though. I always thought you were eating the fire, but maybe all this time Inferno wanted to be eaten... by you."

"You think?" Natsu asked licking his teeth.

"Well Inferno has never wanted to let me eat him or anyone else. Then again you're probably the only one stupid enough to..."

Kai stopped talking as his eyes slowly started widening. He opened his mouth slightly, then closed it back up shaking his head.

"Dad? What's going on?"

"I may, I think I just figured something out. I can't be for sure though, I need to see grandfather's journals." Kai said walking away.

"Wait, what?! What's going on!? You can't say something like that and walk away! Dad!" Natsu yelled running after him.

Finally, maybe they finally were able to get the message. There was only one way to break the barrier and it all relied on Natsu. He just didn't know it yet, he was going to though. Natsu may have been closer to Lucy than he thought.

* * *

Lucy hugged herself as she stared out of the window, swaying side to side. Only one thing had changed about her since she's last seen Natsu, well... her heart had changed, but one thing more noticeable. Her eyes had lost the light in them. There were dark and dull, losing all happiness and sparkle to them. The scenery always looked the same from her window. Nothing changed.

There was a knock on her door before it open, a head picking in. "Hey Lucy."

Lucy remained the same, she hugged herself a little bit tighter though. Sting walked inside and made himself comfortable, pulling up a chair for him to sit in. He leaned back in it and sighed lightly.

"Everything is going along smoothly, for our wedding. Your father is taking care of anything, making me feel completely useless. Literally, he said that my only job is to show up at the wedding, hahahaha."

She remained quiet.

"You mother keeps telling me you don't want to have a say in anything? Not even your gown? So what, do you want to walk down the aisle naked together? Hahaha... Lucy, come on. It's been nearly a year since things have happened, we're about to get married. Can't you show a little excitement? I know you don't hate me, you can't hate me that much."

"I don't hate you Sting." Lucy whispered softly.

Sting's face softened, "I'm sorry he never came Lucy. He was lying to you, it's time to move on. I love you Lucy and I promise to be here for you. You just need to give me a chance."

"Though I don't hate you, that doesn't mean I love you either. Sting, nothing's changed since that day and nothing will. I don't care how many people approve of this marriage, I don't care that my father might be the happiest Element on Earthland for winning in the end, I can't love you the way you want me to. My heart belongs to only him and without knowing if he accepts it or not just makes me feel... stuck."

"It won't be like that forever, I love you Lucy. Truly, honestly, I love you."

Lucy slowly turned around and stared at Sting. She blinked gently and looked down, trying to spot his shadow. It was no longer there though. Lucy couldn't remember a time when he didn't have one and now she could vaguely remember the time when he did. It was like his shadow never existed when he got rid of it.

"It must be hard, being honest all the time. I still can't believe you did that for me." Lucy said slowly.

"Well I couldn't marry into royalty with a shadow on me, remember? If I didn't end up telling the truth about everything then I would never be able to be with you, so for me that was a small price to pay. I only ever started lying in the first place so you wouldn't know I was in love with you."

"Yeah, now I'm going to be the one with a shadow for the rest of my life. Funny how things work out that way." Lucy said looking down.

Her shadow was there, pitch black and darker than anything she's ever seen, even more than Sting's. It looked like at any second it would swallow her up whole and spit her out in the Shadow Element. Sometimes, Lucy wished it would. Even though her parents knew the truth about Natsu now, Lucy continued to deny everything about him. Natsu was hers and hers alone, no one else had the right to speak or even think about him except her. Her whole life was a lie right now, only with Natsu did she feel like she could return to her former-self. Without him... Lucy was a princess with a shadow.

"Lucy," Sting mumbled standing up.

He walked over and tilted her head up, staring at her once bright eyes.

"I'm sorry things turned out this way, you weren't thinking about your Element though. You were thinking for yourself."

"The same as you were when you gave me up. Why couldn't I have been happy? I don't understand why I couldn't have one thing to myself." Lucy started crying.

"Come on, how about a walk to the Light Pillar? I'm sure that will cheer you up." Sting smiled.

"No! I don't want to go anywhere, just leave me alone Sting!" Lucy screamed pushing him away.

She turned in a huff and went back to her window, staring outside of it at the lights above.

"I want to be alone."

"Lucy, you need to get over him and start on your own life now."

"Leave, now."

Sting threw his hands up in the air and headed towards the door, "I'm saving you right now! Look at him! He's still not here! If I would have let you do what you wanted to do you'd still be waiting! I'm here, trying to give you my heart, and yet you're still in love with a man who is never going to come!"

"I would have been with him though... Natsu." Lucy whispered.

Sting rolled his eyes and left the room after that, running his hands through his hair. Month after month its been Natsu this and Natsu that. She's known Sting for years and yet after meeting that Fire Element for a month she was in love with him!? That was supposed to be Sting?! Why?! He's been all but patient with her, been honest, been kind and caring, everything a woman would want! Why wasn't that enough for her though? And where the hell was Natsu?!

"That idiot, if you make her cry one more time I won't be able to give her to you." Sting growled storming down the halls.

He loves her, more than she would ever know. He wanted her to be happy, she wouldn't have been happy though with Natsu since he was never here. Sting wasn't about to give Lucy up to a man who could never be there for her and pretty soon, he wouldn't be giving her up at all. Lucy sighed out and leaned out her window, stretching her arm out to their savior.

"Please, bring him to me." She whispered like a prayer.


	30. Inferno's Flames

**BlackLynx17: Hi everyone! Enjoy everyone! I didn't make the Nalu that long, I'm sorry, but who really could wait that long to find out what happened? **

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 30

Inferno's Flames

* * *

Natsu was sitting outside of his father's room, waiting for whatever results he was looking for. He heard a lot of clutter and curses, ah ha's in the room and some yells and grunts. Finally, after two days, his father opened the door wide and tripped out of the room as he ran to find his son. What he tripped over was said son who was lying down in front of the door.

"OUCH!" Natsu yelled leaning up.

"Natsu! Natsu I've done it! I've realized the solution!" Kai yelled with a grand smile on his face.

Natsu forgot all about his pain, "what?! What are you talking about?! What is it?!"

"Come on, we must hurry! We need to test the theory out!" Kai yelled running out of the door.

Natsu didn't need to be told twice and stood up, chasing after his father. They ran all throughout their land, up the mountain towards the volcano where their savior resided. Kai was there first and started dancing around the Inferno, kissing its flames as he yelled out.

"I've finally realized what you were trying to tell us! Nice work Inferno, you should have told us sooner!"

Natsu was right behind him, staring and panting as he watched the gleeful dance his father was doing.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"Yes my boy, now listen. I don't know if you ever noticed, but when we eat fire we get stronger." Kai said.

Natsu blinked slowly, "duh?!" He yelled.

"No my boy! Really, think. Not only do we get fuller, but its flames actually help us grow stronger Natsu. We become apart of the flames itself, one with the Inferno if you will. I know you've noticed it Natsu, how could you fall down this mountain nearly everyday and not end up hurt at all? That's like a fifty foot drop son." Kai explained.

"After falling from this mountain so many times Dad, I'm used to it now so of course I'm not hurt. And like I said before, duh Dad. I know eating fire makes us stronger, so does eating other foods. That's its job."

"Listen though, what happens when you add flames to a small fire?"

"It grows bigger of course."

"Like us! This is the reason why our savior has been letting the Dragneel family eat him for years! To make us grow stronger Natsu, for you." Kai said pointing at his boy like it all made sense now.

Natsu was very confused though as he yelled out, "the Dragneel family?! You mean you've eaten our savior before?!"

"When I was a child yes, all our ancestors used too. After a certain age though the Inferno stops tasting like something so we stop."

"AFTER ALL THE TIMES YOU SCOLDED ME FOR EATING OUR SAIVIOR! YOU WERE JUST LIKE ME!"

"Well yeah-"

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUNISH ME SO MUCH FOR EATING INFERNO IF YOU DID THE SAME EXACT THING?!"

"Because I wanted to stop the chain Natsu, our Inferno used to be great and huge and now look at the pitiful state it's in now. I didn't know until just now that the Inferno was giving us its strength and energy, preparing for the day where the chosen one would be strong enough to break this barrier. Natsu that person is you. We all stopped eating the Inferno at age 10, I've looked through all our ancestors journals and researched it, but you're 18 now and still eating. It's you."

Natsu calmed down and took a deep breath, "so what are you saying? What does this have to do with Lucy?"

"Eat our savior Natsu, eat all of him. If you do you'll gain his strength and should be strong enough to break the barrier between our Elements." Kai said stepping aside.

"Should? What happens if I'm not? What if nothing happens and we're savior less?"

"It's up to you Natsu, what do you want to do?"

Lucy. He wanted to see Lucy. What would happen to his people though if they didn't have their Element? Their savior? It seems though that Natsu didn't have a choice in the matter. Flames started heading towards him, surrounding him and pulling him into the middle on the fire.

"You want me to eat you?" Natsu asked.

There was sparks and burning, warms feelings rushing through his blood. Natsu clenched his fists and nodded his head.

"Alright." He said taking a huge inhale of the flames.

He started eating. It was delicious. The best meal he had his whole life as he stuffed flame after flame in his mouth. Something was happening, fire was rushing through Natsu's veins. He felt himself growing hotter and warmer, everything in his body tingling. A smirk graced his lips as he lifted up his fist and clenched it. The fire started dying down, growing smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a small flicker between three pebbles. Natsu himself though was on fire; he felt power flowing through every vein in his body. He felt one with the flames themselves and laughed, looking at his father.

"Dad, did it work?" He asked.

"There's only one way to tell, go to her son." Kai said walking over.

"Thanks Dad, would you like to come?! I'm sure Lucy would love to meet you." Natsu said.

Kai shook his head and leaned over to the small flicker on the ground. "I think I'll stay with our savior, it's time I return some of the fire I ate before when I was younger."

Natsu clenched his fist and nodded, "once I get Lucy and break this barrier I will return this power. Thank you Inferno." He bowed before charging off like a fire ball.

Kai watched his son leave with a smile, "good luck Natsu."

He hadn't been to his secret hiding place in months. It wasn't hard to find, using the peddles and rocks he drew arrows on. When he finally entered he searched for the fire crystal he had slept next to for so long to be near Lucy, to hear her soft snores and moans in the night. Walking over to it, when he placed his hands on it lights started sparkling. Natsu laughed, feeling the connection between Elements.

"I'm coming Lucy." Natsu said before disappearing in a ball of fire.

When he opened his eyes back up, everything around him was pure white. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as he blinked, looking around. He himself still was in color, but everything else was just... light. Just how Lucy described it. Where they always talked was a cave, so Natsu walked ahead a little bit before running into something. He ran into the light and jumped up, feeling himself land on something else. Everything looked like a blank canvas, no shapes or images anywhere around him. Everything was just... white. No, this wasn't the White Element. Everything was Light.

And what did Lucy tell him? That she'd be in the place where the light shines brightest? Natsu started looking for that place and spotted something that looked like the sun in the distant, sparkling bright. With a grin he started racing towards it, running as fast as his legs could take him to Lucy. He was going to see her, he was going to meet her in person.

He was going to tell her she looked beautiful.

He was going to tell her he loved her.

They were going to be happy together.

Natsu started running faster than possible, the light in the distance getting closer and closer. Nothing looked like anything, he could see Lucy though in the light. It may have been a mirage or his mind playing tricks, but he was going to meet her there.

Under the light.

* * *

Sting was talking excessively, non-stop about something that had to do with their wedding. Lucy was actually joining in, talking back to him about certain details. This was going to happen. Everything became real when she joined the conversation, she was going to spend the rest of her life with Sting. All her father wanted was for her to have someone who would take care of her and after the wedding in a couple of days he wouldn't have to worry. She wasn't in love with him and that was alright for Sting. Lucy would learn to forgive and love him in the years to come. Sting was talking about having the wedding here in the palace while Lucy wanted the ceremony done in front of their savior.

"Lucy, I know you love the savior and all, by how are we going to fit everyone there? Honestly, we're going to have to build a wedding all around the Light Pillar when it should be built all around us and-"

Lucy's ears tickled. She blinked and scratched the back of one ear, they were humming. Something was wrong with her ears, they were humming loudly. She stood up abruptly and started picking at her ear.

"Lucy? What's happen-"

"Shhhh!" Lucy shushed him.

Her heart started racing. She was picking up something, a voice, a song, but it sounded from a distance. She walked over to the window and looked out, trying to see if anyone was singing on the ground below. Impossible, no one knew this song. Only her and... and...

The wind was knocked right out of Lucy as she fell to her feet and started panting.

"Lucy!" Sting yelled rushing to her and helping her up.

Lucy's hands were shaking, there was a smile on her face though as she glanced at Sting.

"I can hear him."

Sting froze, narrowing his eyes, "what do you mean hear him?"

"I'd recognize that voice anywhere."

"What voice?!"

"I can hear him singing, for me. He's here, he's here, Natsu." Lucy breathed before getting to her feet.

She shoved Sting aside and started heading towards the door, running down the corridor in her bare feet and a nightgown on. Whatever guards that were on patrol were no match for her speed, some tried but were ordered to stop from Sting chasing right after voice started becoming clearer as she ran, th words were becoming easier to understand.

"Lucy wait!" Sting panicked as he yelled out.

Lucy held the door handle to her freedom and looked behind her. Sting was about to beg her to chose him, explain their life together, what it could be together, say he loved her again, try and convince her that he was the one. The light that he never thought he'd see again though was back in her eyes. Lucy... she looked just like the little six year old Lucy he first met and fell in love with.

"Don't keep him waiting like he did with you." Sting couldn't help but sigh out.

Lucy looked up and smiled, nodding her head before she ran outside. Sting sighed and rubbed the back of his head, laughing as tears came out.

"Why do I have to be played as the sucker?" He asked no on in particular.

* * *

"Oh I ate the flames of the savior today and they were oh, oh, oh so good. I'll eat the flames of the savior again and it'll be oh, oh, oh so delicious!" Natsu sang to himself.

Standing alone in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, singing to himself. This song was for her, which he knew she could hear. It didn't stop him from singing louder though.

"Oh! Oh! Ooooh! Tomorrow I shall eat the flames again, and they will be so, oh so, so soooo good!" Natsu finished the first verse.

There was still no signs of her, so Natsu continued to sang.

"Oh I ate the flames of the savior today and they were oh, oh, oh, so good. I ate the flames of the savior today to see my precious, precious one. I gained new powers from the savior today, to see my precious one. I wish to say to my precious one, how oh, oh, oh so beautiful she is-"

"Oh I ate the flames of the savior today and they were oh, oh, oh so good. I'll eat the flames of the savior again and it'll be oh oh oh so delicious."

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked around, hearing her voice.

"Lucy?!"

"Natsu."

Natsu turned around to the voice and was facing her. To him though she looked like the shards of light he's seen though the fire crystal, and to her he looked like a surge of flames like in her crystal. They were facing and seeing each other though. The fire started to take shape and reached out for Lucy, warming up her cheek as he cuffed it in his hands.

"You look beautiful Lucy."

Lucy giggled, blushing as she stared at what would be Natsu.

"I can't make you out Natsu and I'm pretty sure you can't make me out either." She said.

"Doesn't matter, you're standing here in front of me and I can see you just fine. We can work on the bigger pictures later, you're practically glowing."

Lucy laughed hard at that one and smiled, "and you look on fire."

Natsu grinned widely and reached out for her with both arms, pulling the light towards him. She may have looked like light, pressed up against him though Natsu could make up her body, her figure, her being. He held her close and tight, resting his chin on top of her head.

"My Lucy." He whispered.

Lucy started crying as she wrapped her arms around Natsu's waist, "Natsu."

...

...

...


	31. Ex-Shadow King

**BlackLynx17: So today I met an anime buddy in my cooking class, didn't even know it. I barely talked to the girl and one day she was sitting next to me and I looked over and was like, "is that Levy and Gajeel as you background?" She gasped and started freaking out asking if I liked anime and Fairy Tail because I don't look like it. I was insulted a little, I need to start wearing more anime junk to school now, but anyways we're Fairy Tail buddies now. The point of my story was that today she showed me a rather *blushes* keke-intimate, picture of Levy and Gajeel and while posting up this chapter I just remembered that.**

**Thanks for the reviews! We're done with NaLu and we're now at Gavy! **

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 31

Ex-Shadow King

* * *

"Er Levy, a little help here?"

"What's up- ah, Ryos!" Levy called out.

Ryos was trying to stay as still as possible, trying not to scare off all the birds that had all nested themselves on him. Levy laughed as she walked over to him, shooing off the birds that surrounded him. The birds all took flight and Ryos turned to watch them fly away.

"When feeding the birds Ryos you are supposed to put the bird feed on the ground, or else that happens." Levy giggled heavenly.

"Sorry." Ryos sighed lowering his head.

"Oh no Ryos, it's nothing to apologize for. It's actually quite funny." Levy smiled.

Ryos smiled lightly back as he tossed the rest of the bird feed in his hands on the ground. The birds all flew back and started picking it off the ground around him.

"You're doing a lot better Ryos, a lot better. I remember a year ago when you first came here. You were so quiet and to yourself, even the birds would stay away." Levy said offering her hands to one of the birds.

"Honestly I can barely remember how I acted back then. That must be a good thing though, for you to say that. I feel much better now thanks to your help. Thank you so much Levy. I know you had to work extra hard with me since I was a blank slate, you never voiced a complaint though or gave up on me."

"Of course I wouldn't now that we're family in the same Element" Levy said grinning up at him, "and it was my pleasure helping your Ryos. Believe it or not you were helping me too, being my friend when I needed one."

It's been a year since she's seen Gajeel and she hasn't gone back a single time. He still haunted her in her dreams, threatening her, scaring her, hating her just like their last meeting. Ryos made those days feel better though. Usually Erza was the one who she'd go and confine herself to, but her work had gotten busier and busier with more Shadow Elements passing through the barriers; she didn't have much time to hang out with Levy. If it wasn't for Ryos Levy would have been left alone by herself to sulk and regret.

Ryos was Levy's light within the shadows that surrounded her, which was pretty ironic seeing as how he used to be a Shadow Element. It was hard at first to get pass the Gajeel looking factor, but the more Levy saw him the more she realized that he didn't look that much like him. Nor sound like or act. She was trying to see something out of nothing, and now she was seeing him as just Ryos. Him, not Gajeel, offering his hand out to the birds and one courageous one taking up his offer.

"I think you used to be a gentle Shadow Element Ryos." Levy said, staring at him.

"Why would you think that?" Ryos asked looking over at her.

"Just a feeling."

"I could have been the most vile and worthless Shadow Element in the world, which would explain why I decided to forget my memories. You don't know for sure."

"I might not, but the birds do. They can sense evil intent you know, even deep down inside, and since they flock to you then that must mean you have good in you."

"You just told me in the beginning no bird would go near me."

"Well-" Levy started stuttering, "I mean, well er-"

"And I thought there was so no such as kind Shadow Elements?" Ryos asked raising an eyebrow.

Levy's heart fluttered a little, "that's not true. There are some Shadow Elements that are kind, it's extremely rare though. You're one of those rare kind."

Ryos stood up and walked over to Levy, holding out a hand for her. Levy reached for it and allowed him to help her up, dusting some of the bird feed and feathers from her hair.

"Don't we have the new recruits to greet today? Shouldn't we get going?" He asked.

"No, Hinata and Kiyoshi are filling in for us this time. Today is our day off, which we should be enjoying right now like this." Levy smiled, "unless you want to go do something else?"

Ryos shrugged, "whatever you desire Levy."

"Whatever I desire huh? Then I desire one of my auntie's delicious berry sandwiches right about now. How about you?"

Right when she asked, Ryos stomach started to growl and the two of them shared a laugh. Levy started tugging his hand, leading the way.

"Come on Ryos, after a quick lunch break if you really want to we can go check on the new recruits." Levy said.

Ryos nodded and followed after, squeezing her hand tight. When he first arrived here, everything was so different, so new even though he couldn't remember what the Shadow Element place looked like. It all just felt bright and glorious. The sights, the beauty, the peacefulness, and the Elements here. It only took a week for him to fall in love with the Earth Element. Levy had been such a big influence on that, making him feel welcome and always at home.

"I wonder if we'll have any luck this time." Ryos said, his feet stomping against the earth.

"Maybe, there has to be one Shadow Element who knows who you are. Sooner or later we are bound to run into someone who recognizes you, but are you sure that's a good thing Ryos? You forgot about your past life for a reason."

"It must have been a big reason, but still I feel like I've forgotten something important that I didn't want to forget about, that I need to find out."

"The Shrine Maiden's magic doesn't last forever you know, one day you'll remember all about your past life. Until then though you shouldn't worry, because you have a life now, here, as Ryos Fernandez the Earth Element." Levy smiled.

Ryos blinked at her and smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm Levy McGarden, super genius!" She smiled.

"Right, right, well then super genius how come we are going the wrong way?"

"What? Huh, oops. Well you were distracting me!"

"Hahaha, of course I was super genius. Come on, let this regular genius show you the correct way."

Anyone who saw them would have thought they looked like a cute couple; they couldn't be more far off... far off or closer to the truth.

* * *

"Another five were able to pass this morning."

Gajeel hummed, "great. Just another ten thousand to go."

"I wouldn't say that there's ten thousand Shadow Elements, our land isn't that big. More like... at least six thousand, seven and eight really pushing it."

"Doesn't matter, all we need to do is keep doing what we're doing and hopefully one day my grandchild's grandchildren will be able to finish this off."

"That's really keeping it positive."

Gajeel looked at his once great King and guardian and glared, "shut up Jellal."

Jellal Fernandez walked over to his new King and ruffled his hair a little bit, "you know after not seeing you for years, I would have thought you and Rouge would have changed. Turns out you're exactly how you used to be, except taller and grumpier."

Gajeel growled and smacked his hand off, "shut up Jellal; I didn't lift your banishment for us to reminisce about the past."

"True, I don't think you lifted it because you needed help ruling your Element either, which leads me to wonder why did you come for me in the Void Gajeel?"

Gajeel simply stared at him before turning away, leaving his once great king behind him. Jellal chuckled as he left, finding another thing that hasn't change. Gajeel leaving the room when he was asked a question he didn't want to answer. Although it has been years, nothing at all has changed about this Element. His people were the same, his home the same, even the throne room. Gajeel hadn't touched a single thing or made it different.

The one thing that was missing was Rogue. When Gajeel came for him and offered to lift the banishment in return for his help, there was a dead tone in his voice and unshed tears in his eyes. It reminded Jellal of the first time he found Gajeel and he couldn't resist taking his hand. Only when he realized Rogue was gone did he know, Gajeel didn't come to him for help or anything like that. He was simply lonely. Lonely and wanted company. Jellal didn't know if Rogue was dead or alive, he was gone though and from the way Gajeel acted he wasn't about to come back.

Still, even if used only for company, it was nice to be out of that dark Void. Jellal would preferred the outside than inside that dark cave any day. He would do anything for Gajeel as long as he didn't send him back into the place, whether ruling over their Elements with an iron fist or trying to save them all and get them rescued.

While Jellal was reminiscing about the past, Gajeel stalked to Rogue's old room (and his new one) and slammed the door shut. He collapsed on the bed and took a deep inhale of breath, sighing out seconds later. He turned his head to the side and saw the princess flower against Rogue's bedside, dried up and dead petals on the table around it. This flower was a survivor, Gajeel had to admit that. Only three petals left and it was still hanging on after a year later, still as bright and red as the day he first got it.

Levy. Ryos. So many times he was tempted to visit the barrier, the outer wall, and ask about the two of them. He stopped himself each time. The way he left them was perfect. One realizing just the kind of monster he was, the other forgetting all the sins he had committed. He had been able to save them both, although Rouge was the one trying to harm Levy, so maybe it wasn't a good idea to put them together in the same Element with no barrier to protect her. The shadows were out of Rogue though and had left only Ryos.

The good brother. The innocent one. He never should have been born in an Element like this, Gajeel knew that since the first moment he saw him. The joy it brought him to know that finally his brother was where he should have been born at could not be put into words.

Gajeel gladly took his punished, gladly accepted it as long as his loved ones were safe. It just sucked that there was no way he would know for sure that they were safe, okay, out of harm.

"They better be, or else going through all of this would suck." Gajeel mumbled before closing his eyes.


	32. Explaining To Do

**BlackLynx17: So I'm watching this movie where this guy is stuck in a car in the middle of a forest and I have no idea what's happening right now. It's been like half an hour and he's just made it out of the car, I don't know what's going to happen, but hopefully it will all make sense when it's over. Did I mention he has amnesia? So he doesn't remember ANYTHING!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 32

Explaining To Do

* * *

"Pardon me, I'm coming in!" Levy called cheerfully as she opened the door wide open.

Erza looked up from her desk, pulling her glasses off as she smiled up at her visitor. Levy sang and dance around Erza's room, throwing flowers from her basket she picked for her all around before spinning, landing right in front of Erza with a berry sandwich extended.

"For you, my Queen." Levy bowed lowly.

"Thank you loyal subject." Erza giggled, taking it from her.

"Anything for you, your highness."

"Hehehehe, Levy's what's gotten into you today?"

"I just had a wonderful morning with Ryos! We fed birds and then went to visit my Auntie, getting these delicious sandwiches." Levy smiled pulling another from her basket.

"And where is this Ryos I've heard so much about?" Erza asked.

"He went to visit the new recruits, I heard we had five this time!" Levy cheered.

"I know, it's required a lot of paperwork. It's amazing Levy, this past year we've gotten more Shadow Elements than any other year before. This has never happened." Erza whined.

"This is all a good thing though, right? It means that the Shadow Elements are changing, for the better."

"I guess... it's just a lot of work Levy." Erza sighed out, leaning back in her chair.

Levy tilted her head over to the side and walked over, sitting down on Erza's desk. She reached her hand out and grabbed Erza's, holding it tightly.

"Erza? Is everything alright?"

"Being Queen isn't all it's chopped up to be. This past year just has been a little stressful, I'm alright though. What we should be discussing is this Ryos person I've heard so much about lately. You've never introduced us you know." Erza said raising an eyebrow.

"Well it's not my fault; you're the queen and very intimidating."

"What are you talking about? All Earth Elements love me."

"Ryos isn't an Earth Element though, he's a Shadow." Levy said.

Erza paused, her head whipping over towards Levy lightening fast, "excuse me? You're dating a Shadow Element?!" She asked.

Levy face turned a bright red, "ERZA! NO! I'M NOT DATING RYOS! HE'S MY BEST FRIEND! Me dating Ryos, ha-ha-ha, no! I mean, sure it looks that way, but I don't like him that way! I don't! I don't!" Levy gasped shaking her head side to side.

Erza thought other things though. "Levy, you're a horrible liar and all that blushing isn't helping you very much."

"What do you mean blushing?! I'm doing this because I'm embarrassed!" She yelled.

"Levy, what are you thinking? A Shadow Element?"

"Well he's not really a Shadow Element Erza, he's one of us now. And there aren't any evil Shadow Elements here or else they wouldn't be able to cross the barrier."

Erza made a face. All of that was true, still... Shadow Elements were tricky. She always imagined Levy with a nice, kind Earth Element, not... well not a saved Shadow Element.

"What's his name again?" Erza asked.

"His name is Ryos. He was saved around a year ago and chose to erase his memories, all he knew was his name. Sort of wanted a fresh start you know? He acts like he regrets the choice though. I know he was a kind hearted Shadow Element though by the way he acts, so I think he must have wanted to forget a brother or family member dying you know? I know if I had a chance at a new life I wouldn't want to remember my family's deaths." Levy whispered softly.

Erza's gaze softened, "oh Levy."

"Don't take that tone with me, I'm perfectly happy! I just feel bad for Ryos, that's all. He's become my best friend though Erza, it sure was a lot of work too. Now he's working at helping the new saved, hoping to find someone who'll recognize him."

"The memory spells our Shrine Maiden cast though don't last forever, sooner or later he's going to remember everything."

"I've told him that, he rather know sooner though." Levy sighed shaking her head.

"You said his name was Ryos? Ryos what?" Erza blinked.

"Fernandez. Ryos Fernandez."

A great gust of wind flew against the Wisdom Tree, slamming open the shutters in Erza's room and sending all papers flying in the air. Levy squeaked and ducked down while Erza... Erza's heart stopped.

"What was that all about? Now look at this mess." Levy whined as she looked at the scattered papers.

"Fernandez... impossible." Erza whispered.

Levy, hearing this, turned over to Erza and hummed, "what? What's impossible?"

"Levy, where is he?" She asked.

"Erza?!"

"This Ryos fellow?! Where is he Levy!? Tell me right now!" Erza screamed getting up.

She gripped Levy's shoulders and started shaking her, "answer me Levy!"

"Erza! You're acting crazy right now, what's happening?!" Levy asked.

"You might be dating the previous Shadow King's son! That's what wrong! Now tell me where this Ryos fellow is!" Erza screamed at her.

Levy blinked, her heart cracking as she heard the words Shadow King. She's been doing such a good job too keeping it strong, frozen solid, forgetting all about him.

"What?"

"Dammit Levy! Guards! Front in center, I need to find an ex-Shadow Element by the name of Ryos Fernandez! Stat!" Erza yelled running out the door.

Impossible. Gajeel... Gajeel did say he had a brother. His name was Rogue though, not Ryos. And Erza just said that he could have been the Shadow King's son. So that wasn't possible... then again she didn't know how old Gajeel was. And it would explain why Ryos looked so much like Gajeel when she first saw him, so would him being his brother too though! Levy's head started hurting, she needed to figure all of this out though.

"Erza! Wait up! He's where the new recruits are!" Levy yelled running after her.

She caught up and led Erza along with a bunch of other guards to the outskirts of town, where new Earth Elements were brought up and raised. A great scene was caused as the Earth Elements saw their Queen a pale white color, running like she's never ran before. That was one thing Levy didn't understand, why Erza looked so scared, no not scared, worried. Afraid too, like she's seen a ghost.

Ryos was out picking herbs to share with the new recruits when he heard the footsteps of an army running over. He turned around and saw Levy first, smiling lightly, before noticing the queen and all her guards. His eyes widely slightly and he quickly bowed down on one knee.

"Stand up!" Erza ordered.

"Ryos." Levy said running over.

"Levy, what's going on?" Ryos asked.

"Queen Erza, she might know who you are." Levy said helping him up.

"What?" Ryos asked then looked directly at her.

Erza took a long look at him, staring directly into his eyes. Red eyes, black hair, fair skin. He looked around Levy's age, maybe a year or two younger. The thing that stood out most about him though was how he looked nothing like the Shadow King Erza had in mind.

"What is your name?" Erza asked.

"R-Ryos Fernandez, do you know me? If you do, please tell me." Ryos said then quickly bowed lightly, "your majesty."

"Are you sure your name is that? Did you know that the previous Shadow King's name was Jellal Fernandez? You share his given name, do you have any connection to him?" Erza interrogated.

"I-I- I don't know." Ryos stuttered.

"Erza, he had his memories erased, he doesn't know anything about his past." Levy said standing by his side.

She had said Jellal Fernandez, not Gajeel Redfox. She was talking about a different King. For some reason, it made Levy sad. Erza looked over Ryos once more before deducted that it was just a common name and nothing more. Just hearing his name though still made her shutter, made her act crazy. Erza took a breath and looked around her, seeing her citizens worried and judgmental stares.

"I... I'm sorry for the commotion I just caused. Please excuse me." Their Queen announced, turning around and walking away.

"Erza! Hold on!" Levy called out, Ryos's grabbed her hand though.

"Ryos, not now, I have to- Ryos? Ryos!" Levy yelled.

Ryos's eyes started dilating. His breath was edgy as he gripped his forehead, kneeling over lightly. Levy caught him and held him in her arms, shaking him lightly.

"Ryos?! Ryos are you okay? Guards! Come help me! Please!" Levy yelled.

They quickly ran towards her and picked up Ryos, bringing him to the nearest house.

"I'll go get the shaman." One announced running out.

"Ryos." Levy mumbled, looking at him.

Erza needed her, she needed to go talk to her, but with Ryos suddenly falling unconscious... Levy didn't know what to do. There were people here for Ryos... no one was there for Erza right now. Levy stood up, sparing a glance at Ryos before she ultimately picked Erza. A hand reached out for her once again though and pulled her back.

"Levy, please." Ryos struggled to say, panting heavily, "don't leave."

"But Ryos." Levy cried out.

"Please." He begged, staring at her with bright red eyes.

Eyes that used to make her heart fly asunder whenever she would see them. Levy walked back over to the bedside and sat on the floor, making herself comfortable as she held Ryos's hand. He fell back asleep after that with a smile on his face, leaving Levy there stroking his bangs until their shaman came.

"What happened to him?" She asked after examining the poor Shadow Element.

"He was perfectly fine a while ago. Queen Erza came down and started asking questions though and when she left he just fainted." Levy explained.

The Shaman hummed as she tilted Ryos's head side to side, "and you said he had his memories erased?"

"That's right, but that was a year ago. This has never happened to him before."

"Something the queen said must have triggered his memories. This might be a repercussion of that, he wasn't able to access the memory though because of it being hidden deep inside so he ultimately fainted." She said.

"Is he going to be alright though?" Levy asked.

"He should be, but the spell cast on him to hide his memories has weakened immensely. If not recasted, it can only be a matter of days before he remembers. Maybe even when he wakes up. If you like I can recasted it myself right no-"

"Don't! I mean, he doesn't want that. He wants to remember his memories, he's been trying to remember all this time."

The shaman looked over a Levy and stared, "you care about him a lot, so you should do what you think is best for him. There is a reason he forgot Levy, and if he remembers it, the memories might be his demise. How many Shadow Elements come with their memories completely gone?"

Levy looked down at her feet, biting her bottom lip.

"If he doesn't remember when he wakes up, talk to him about it. I trust you more than him though Levy so it's your call. Him remembering might not be the greatest thing in the world, in fact it might hurt him instead. If he remembers it all there won't be anything we can do anymore, just remember that Levy." She said before sighing out, "other than that though he's perfectly fine. Just let him rest and give him a day off work."

"Thank you very much." Levy said looking over at Ryos.

"Don't mention it. I'm sorry about the tough decision, it must be made though. Call me again if his situations changes." She said before leaving.

Levy was left alone with Ryos. She reached out to stroke the bangs out of his face again, grabbing a nearby leaf and drying the sweat slipping down. There was no way she could leave him with how tight his grip on her he had. Levy didn't think she wanted to leave him either with the state he was in.

"Ryos." Levy whispered.

* * *

_"Gajeel, I'm hungry."_

_"Alright Ryos, just wait right here hidden for me. I'll come right back, super quick with something to eat."_

_"Thanks big brother."_

_He thinks the big brother was smiling before leaving the little brother. Everywhere he looked he didn't find any food, and his pockets were empty so he had no money. He was resorted to stealing. The man the big brother was running towards looked familiar though. It was an easy steal, accident running into him. The man had helped him up though and dusted himself off._

_Sucker, the big brother thought making away with his wallet. He returned home to the hide out with food for the younger brother and watched as he ate, waiting his turn for the scraps._

_"Thanks Gajeel."_

_"Anything for you Ryos. Anything."_

Gajeel opened his eyes and looked around the room. It was a dream. A dream... about the past. Gajeel took a deep breath as he leaned up. The flower looked exactly like it did last night he fell asleep at and Gajeel reached out to touch it.

"Morning." He said.

The flower didn't say anything; Gajeel imagined it did though. He got up from the bed, opening the window and letting the cracks of sunlight land on the lone flower before he left the room. Walking over to the dining room, he found his previous king already there eating breakfast.

"Morning Gajeel." Jellal said, lifting up his glass before he took a sip.

"I had a dream about you last night." Gajeel said joining him.

Jellal spat up his drink making Gajeel flinch.

"Yuck! Not like that!" He yelled, "about how we first met!"

"Oh, ke-kem, oh yeah. I remember that day, more importantly I remember returning to the home without my wallet."

"What was the king of us doing anyway walking about the junk yards? It's like you were asking to get robbed." Gajeel asked stealing Jellal's plate of food.

"I was trying to keep up my appearance with the people, so I wouldn't get overruled. Turns out I should have been looking after my own family instead."

"I did you a favor, if it wasn't for me then some other Shadow Element would have came and killed you in your sleep. At least you knew the throne went to your family. It was like you were asking for your throne to get taken away once you stopped caring about the people." Gajeel said.

"I didn't stop caring." Jellal growled.

"Then what the hell happened?! Because from what I remembered you never left this castle! At all! You kept yourself locked in your room for months after you adopted me and Rogue! Right before we came you used to visit your people, at least make an appearance and attempt to help us! After we came though you did nothing! Was it our fault?! If we were the faults to you ending up such a wuss then why did you even adopt us?!" Gajeel yelled, slamming his hand on the table.

Jellal stared at his glass and glared slightly, saying nothing. Gajeel calmed down and started eating his food again, ripping the meat off the bones with his teeth.

"Is that what you thought?"

"I thought you planning something to help our people, turns out you weren't doing a single thing for them."

"I admit I lost my way, I was going to get on track before you banished me."

"Better banished then dead."

"I suppose so... still, you could have kept me locked in the dungeon. Spending so many years with the Ender changes you. He's not such a bad person." Jellal said.

Gajeel snorted, "what are you talking about?"

"The Ender, our savior. He's alive you know, a being. These past years I've been-"

"Just stop right there, please. Talks about the Ender are not welcomed in this household. Don't give me any more reason to hate him or a single reason to change my mind. I'm perfectly fine with how I think about him." Gajeel said.

Jellal shrugged, "Just thought you might want to know how I've been doing."

"If I haven't asked you that for the past year we've been living together, what would make you think I'd want to know now?" Gajeel asked simply.

"I raised a little asshole." Jellal said.

"Why did you ever decide to raise two little assholes anyway? I never figured that out and you would never answer."

Jellal took a breath as he took a sip of his drink.

"You could say I was lonely... I guess," he shrugged, "and after realizing that I'd never have a heir when I spotted you that one day I thought why not?"

Gajeel stared with his mouth wide open, "so if some other snot nosed brat stole your wallet that day-"

"Then yes, they would probably be sitting across from me right now instead of you."

Gajeel shook his head, mumbled an "unbelievable," as he finished his meals. It took a minute for him to realize something; he chewed the rest of his meal before looking up at his guardian.

"What did you mean you'd never have a heir? What? No Shadow Elements were throwing themselves at your feet?" He asked.

"It wasn't that, I found the Element I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. I lost her though, no love, no heir." Jellal shrugged.

Gajeel blinked and sighed out, leaning against his hand. Jellal did the same thing and raised an eyebrow over at him.

"What? That doesn't get a tease or insult?"

"I know what you're talking about. I've completely lost interest in all these Shadow Element ladies."

"Wait a second, Shadow Element ladies? What other ladies are there here in the Shadows?" Jellal asked.

"Oh." Gajeel mumbled.

"Oh... Gajeel? It's been a year already and I know I've stayed silent about this, but where's Rogue? What's been happening ever since I was banished?"

Gajeel leaned back in his chair and sighed out, running a hand down his face. It wasn't an easy thing to talk about, nothing here was easy in the Shadows though. It's been a year now, plenty of mourning time. Maybe it was time to finally say something.

"Ryos was taken over by the darkness in his head so I forced him across the barrier and erased all his memories. He's an Earth Element now, has been for the past year with no memories of us at all."

Jellal was very quiet and momentarily shocked. He took a breath before standing up, walking around the table and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Gajeel said nothing, "it needed to be done."

The moment was over when Gajeel swiped his hand away, turning his head. Jellal didn't push it as he took the empty chair next to him, ready to start the next conversation.

"So after that I guess you came to rescue me, huh? What else did I miss?"

Gajeel shrugged once again, "met a girl."

Jellal raised both eyebrows, "now that's interesting. Carry on, you met a girl."

"Fell in love I guess, it's over now though."

"Why would say that?"

"Made her cry, called her an idiot, said I didn't love her at all and that she was worthless."

Jellal made a blank face. "I don't know if you knew this Gajeel, though it's common sense, but when you say those things to a girl, they usually get angry and break up with you."

"Had no choice, Rogue took over Ryos and threatened to kidnap her. If I didn't she would have been used by him."

"And you actually cared? Hold on a second, I need to hear the beginning of this." Jellal said shaking his head.

Gajeel leaned back and kicked his legs up on the table, "I guess it started after you were banished. It took a while, had to kick a lot of people's asses, but I finally made king and had my sole purpose of breaking the barrier. Ryos had the idea of working with the Shadow Elements, bettering our people, I was so blinded by results now though I decided on a different plan. Did you know there is this area far away from our land? Near the barrier on the southwest side, there's the perfect view of flowers as white as snow."

Jellal gasped, his eyes widened as his face turned a little pale, but Gajeel didn't pick up on it.

"There I met an Earth Element and though I planned on using her for my own game, I ended up falling in love with he-"

A fist came out of nowhere and socked Gajeel right across the jaw. Gajeel flew out of his seat and knocked into the other chairs, staring wide eyes at Jellal when he recovered.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!" He yelled out.

Jellal was breathing heavily, the shadows curlign around him as he looked down at Gajeel.

"I know you did not fall in love with her." Jellal glared.

"YOU FUCKING PUNCH ME OVER THAT?! WHAT THE HELL?! YOU AREN'T THE KING, YOU CAN'T DECIDE IF I FALL FOR AN EARTH ELEMENT! THERE'S NO RULE ABOUT IT!"

"She's mine Gajeel, you have no right to fall in love or even get acknowledge by here." Jellal glared, his shadow picking up the sprawled out chairs, vases, table, everything within his distance.

"What the fuck? You know Levy?"

The shadows disappeared, all the objects they held falling on the floor.

"Did you just say Levy?"

"Yes! Levy fucking McGarden! Do you know her?!"

Jellal blinked, "Not... Erza Scarlet? Another Element came to that abandoned field?"

"Erza Scarlet- are you talking about the Earth Element Queen?! Oh my God, DO YOU HAVE A THING FOR THE EARTH ELEMENT QUEEN?!"

Jellal turned away, scratching his cheek, while Gajeel pointed an accusing finger at him, the blood from his nose tripping down his lip. It seemed this time around Jellal was the one with explaining to do.


	33. Remembering

**BlackLynx17: Next chapter you're not going to know anything that's going on, so enjoy this one while you can. HAHAHA!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 33

Remembering

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright Ryos?"

"Hmm, I'm fine Levy. I'm sorry for keeping you here with me earlier, but I'm feel feeling much better now." Ryos said running his hands through his hair.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave if-"

"I'm sorry for reaching out for you in the first place, I'm perfectly fine though. Go, you have something to talk to Erza about right?" Ryos asked.

Levy smiled lightly and nodded her head, "alright, if you're sure. I'll be right back when I finish with her; is there anything you want me to bring you back?"

"Herbal tea."

"Herbal tea it is, extra bland and disgustingly plain. Just the way you like it." Levy winked.

Ryos chuckled while Levy stood up, heading for the door.

"Alright, be back soon. Don't push yourself today, the Shaman says that you're supposed to rest all day."

"Just go Levy, I'll be right here when you get back."

Levy nodded her head before finally leaving, running as fast as her feet could take her towards the Wisdom Tree. It's only been a day, not that long right? Erza couldn't have done anything that drastic, right?

Levy started running a little bit faster, making it to the Wisdom Tree twice as fast. As soon as she started running up the steps through, guards who were on patrol stopped her as they were walking down.

"I'm sorry Miss McGarden, the Queen has asked to be left alone today though." Jet said.

"What? No way, she must have been talking to anyone else but me."

"I'm sorry Levy, but orders are orders." Droy frowned.

"Jet, Droy, please. I need to see her."

"Even if we let you up Levy, the guards guarding up there won't let you through either. You're just going to have to wait until she's better." Jet frowned.

Levy sighed dramatically and pulled herself apart from her two friends, "fine!"

She started running back down the stairs, instead of going home though she ran into the Wisdom Library. The Queen's castle was located above their savior, the Wisdom Tree. Levy couldn't very well climb the tree, she didn't have wings to fly either, so there had to be another way inside other than the staircase.

"Come on, this library is located directly under her home! There has to be a secret passage or secret staircase or something!" Levy cried in frustration.

A year ago, if she was about to do what she was about to do, she would have never done it. She would have cried and screamed at herself why she was doing something like this. Right now though, Levy didn't care at all. All these books in this room meant nothing compared to Erza. She'd burn this whole place down to the ground if it meant being able to see her.

So Levy had no problem knocking down all the bookcases, letting the books scatter and fall all over the floor. They were going to be ruined, some pages bend, some covers damaged, Levy kept throwing more and more down as she search the walls, the floors, everywhere.

"DAMMIT! WISDOM TREE! PLEASE, HELP ME!" Levy cried out once there was nothing else to knock over.

She was met in silence. Levy took a deep breath, collapsing on the floor, and allowed herself a moment of relief. When she looked back up, a staircase she didn't notice before was right there, against the wall that held nothing just a moment ago. Levy looked down at the roots of the Wisdom Tree and cried, kissing the ground.

"Thank you savior." She whispered, resting her head against the ground, before getting up and heading up the staircase.

She didn't know why it was so important to see Erza right now, she just had to see her though! Yesterday her eyes, the way she was acting, the way she looked when she said Ryos's name, it was all strange. It was all confusing and just, just, Erza was hurting. She was hurting and if Levy didn't appear by her side right now then she'd continue hurting alone.

There wasn't a door at the end of the staircase, so Levy made one as she smashed into it over and over again until the roots broke and let her in. Levy landed on the ground with an oomph and stood back up, dusting herself off.

"No one saw that, right?" She whispered looking around embarrassed.

When she didn't see anyone she went running towards Erza's room, making sure to avoid the guards. Finally, when she opened the door, Erza was in bed staring blankly out the window. Her head turned when she saw Levy and she simply blinked, turning back around from her.

"Erza." Levy sighed.

"I thought I ordered the guards to keep everyone out." Erza told her softly.

"I had to see you though Erza, so I broke in." Levy pouted.

"Hehehe," Erza giggled lightly.

Levy smiled in return and started walking over, over to the side of her bed to lie down with her. Erza scooted over and made some space for her, offering the covers. Levy tuckered herself in beside her and reached her hands out for Erza, hugging her close and resting her head over hers.

"Erza... what's wrong?" Levy asked.

Erza shook her head against Levy's chest.

"Yesterday, you acted scary when I told you Ryos's name. You acted... you acted like that time before, when you returned home late at night broken. You were dead inside Erza and I thought I lost you, you returned to me though. You got better, yesterday though... you returned back to that self. You've never told anyone Erza and I've never asked, I have to ask you now though. Erza... what does the name Fernandez have to do with you?"

Erza eye's widened a little bit, curling up into a small ball against Levy.

"It's my secret Levy."

"Please Erza, we're sisters. What's the matter?"

Tears started swelling up in Erza's eyes and she cried out, her tears shining.

"I was so young, so incredibly stupid! I didn't care though, I didn't, I was in love with him and I actually believed that was enough." Erza cried out.

Levy hugged her tightly, "what happened Erza?"

"I fell in love with the Shadow King before I became Queen, and he broke my heart." Erza said.

Levy's eyes widened and Erza heart her heart speed up. She closed her eyes shut and held them like that.

"I was just a girl, I didn't know any better."

"What happened Erza?"

What happened was this. Just like Erza always sent Levy out into the meadows to collect princess flowers, Erza's mother would do the same for her whenever the flowers were in bloom. She was 14. One day while picking flowers, one got caught in the wind and started flying away. Erza ran after it, trying to catch it, but stopped when she reached the edge. On the other side behind the barrier the future King of the Shadow Elements appeared, picking the flower up for her.

It was their first meeting, the Shadow Prince and Earth Princess. He offered the flower back, but wasn't able to give it. Erza was drawn in by his beauty and didn't run; Jellal the same mesmerized by the color of her hair. They became friends after that and every year for the next two years, whenever the flowers were in bloom, the two Elements would meet in secret. Love was sure to blossom between the two Elements, an impossible love due to the barrier though.

The Prince was the first to say it, on the second year they met. The Princess was shocked she ran away, the very next day she came back with a feast and confessed her love back. They were content with that until it was time for the Princess to turn into a queen. She told the Prince and asked for him to come become an Earth Element. The Prince had no idea she was a Princess, just like the Princess didn't know he was a Prince. There was nothing holding him back here in the Shadows, and even though he warned the Princess that he had done horrible things that could not be forgiven, she offered to abuse her new queen powers and let him pass anyway. She was in love.

He wasn't going to betray her. He said yes. The day that he was supposed to come over, the day after her coronation, he didn't show up. It broke her heart, so the next day she showed up at the spot, seething red, screaming why he didn't show up.

"He told me he didn't love me, that it was all an act, that he was the King of the Shadows Elements and that we were to never meet again. He left after that and I didn't run after him or anything, just stayed there and cried until I found the strength to return home." Erza whispered.

It was exactly like her. Erza... she went through exactly what Levy went though. They both fell in love with a Shadow Element in the secret garden, only to be used at the end. It was so... fateful. Levy opened her mouth, ready to voice her story.

"Every since then I haven't loved another, I just couldn't. I'm sorry Levy, I never meant to hide this from you but how could I voice my mistakes? My foolishness?" Erza cried.

"No Erza! Don't think like that! You were in love!"

"Love is weakness Levy. I'm sorry about yesterday with Ryos, I had thought Jellal got remarried and had a kid and feared that it was him. Turns out it wasn't though, I felt so foolish. Even years later when I hear his name I go weak in the knees, chasing after to see him again." Erza shook her head.

"Erza, that's not weakness. Listen-"

"I don't need a pep talk Levy, I'm grown enough to accept my mistakes. I fear he may always be my weakness... you know what I regret though?"

Levy bit her bottom lip, wondering if she could ever finally voice her secret. She listened intently though, wishing to hear all parts of this story that was happening to her life right now.

"Not going after him. The way we broke up, it may have seem harsh back then, but every night Levy I think about it and replay it over and over again in my mind. The way it happened, the way he was acting, it was all strange. I regret not finding out the truth. I regret not chasing after him, asking him, begging him to tell me the truth. That if he was forced to say those things, that if he was making everything up. I'll never be able to know now, what he truly felt for me."

Levy froze, her eyes widening.

"This may be coming out of nowhere, but I saw the way you were protecting Ryos Levy. We don't last forever, so if I was you I wouldn't waste time waiting on love. You never know how long it's going to last. Cherish it while it's there."

"Erza," Levy cried, tears falling out of her eyes.

"Don't end up alone like me Levy, don't live in fear and with regrets."

"Erza!" Levy yelled out jumping out of the bed.

"Levy?!" Erza called out as she watched her run.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, truly sorry Erza, I need to go though. I'll explain everything to you later and though it may look like I'm betraying you, know that I love you with everything in my heart and that I owe you my whole entire life. You saved me, and I will never forget that." Levy cried before she left.

"Levy?! What are you talking about?! Levy!"

She was just like her. Just like her. And if Levy didn't do anything, she would end up just like her too. Levy couldn't do that, she didn't... she wanted to know the truth as well. Was Gajeel lying? Or was he actually forced to tell her all those things! She loved him, did that mean anything to him?! She wanted to know, had to know in fact! She couldn't live in regret, she wasn't going to.

"Levy!"

Levy paused, just about to run past the person who was calling her. She didn't though, because once she saw him she realized who it was.

"Ryos?" Levy asked, stopping in her tracks.

Ryos looked at her with his eyebrows raised, slowly shaking his head.

"No, no not Ryos, Rogue." Ryos said.

Levy looked at him strangely and raised an eyebrow, "Rogue?" She repeated then gasped, "you remembered?"

"When I woke up, things were hazy, but I remembered everything. My name, my family, I have a brother." Ryos chuckled, "my name is Rogue Redfox, and I have a brother." He grinned.

Levy's eyes both widened, she covering her mouth as she gasped.

"Redfox?"

Rogue nodded and grinned widely, "yes Redfox, and I have so much to tell you about my big brother."

* * *

He hadn't plan on betraying her at first; he said yes. The day that he was supposed to come over, the day after her coronation, he couldn't show up. It must have broken her heart, and he didn't want to show up again to avoid seeing it broken, but she deserved more than that. So the next day she showed up at the spot, seething red, screaming why he didn't show up he told her anything he needed to in order to keep her away and make her stay away.

"Why the hell did you do that? You could have gone to the Earth Elements! You could have been saved without changing! You could have been with her, no one was here to judge you or make you stop! Why didn't you go with her Jellal?!" Gajeel yelled slamming his hand on the table.

Jellal closed his eyes, recalling his memories, and smiled lightly.

"I was so happy that day. I was walking home, ready to give up everything for her. On my walk home I started noticing things, I started to notice my people. I noticed how hard they had it, I really saw what a horrible place this Element was and then I saw you and Rogue, huddling together under a cardboard box, trying to keep each other warm. You were children, struggling to survive, and I was your king doing nothing about it. I was letting you all suffer, getting ready to live off my life completely happy leaving you all for dead. So I picked the two of you up that night and swore to myself that I wouldn't make myself happy without making my Element happy first."

"What the fuck?! There was no way in hell I would have done that! I would have abandoned everyone for Levy?! Why the hell didn't you tell her all that shit then?!"

"Because I couldn't have her wait for me. I couldn't... if I would have told her she would have waited. I didn't know how long it would have take to change our people, but I knew it was going to be decades and I couldn't have asked her stop her life that long for me. So I had to tell her I hated her in order for her to move on without me. Good thing I did too, because look at me. It's been four years since then and I'm not even close to my goal. I hadn't even started until you came for me."

Jellal was prepared to be called an idiot again and stupid, but Gajeel reached out and touched his shoulder, nodding his head.

"Now that I can understand. It just sucks, not knowing right? If you did the right thing, if she actually moved on or not. If Rogue is safe or not."

"Yeah, that does suck."

The two of them were silent before Gajeel started cracking his neck.

"Well, come on. Our Elements aren't going to help themselves. I've been beginning to think that maybe we should open the Junk Yard to everybody, well maybe not everybody, but to the little orphan kids like you did for us." Gajeel asked.

"That... sounds like a great idea."

"I do occasionally have some of them." Gajeel smirked heading towards the door.

"Gajeel wait-" Jellal said following after him.

"What do you want old man?"

"Old man?" Jellal raised an eyebrow wrapping an arm around Gajeel.

He started rubbing his knuckles against the top of his head.

"Ow, what the hell?!"

"I'm not that old you brat." He chuckled.

"Alright, gosh is this how you treat your king?" Gajeel asked.

Jellal chuckled and head butted Gajeel lightly, smiling at him.

"I'm really proud of you. When I first brought you and Rogue in, I had no idea what to expect, but you have passed all expectations and never did I believe that you were going to mature this much. You did the right thing with the girl, and even the stronger thing with Rogue. You're a wonderful king, way better than me, and if you'll have me, I'll always follow and be your right hand man." Jellal said.

Though it touched Gajeel's heart to hear all of that, he had a tough act to keep up and merely shrugged him off.

"Enough sentimental crap, I hate children you know so you're going to be dealing with all of them until we can get some nannies around here." Gajeel said.

Jellal threw his head back in laughter, sounding just like how Gajeel laughed. Gajeel grinned and laughed the exact same way, the two of them entering the town like that. All laughs stopped though and were directed up when the barrier started making noise. They stared at the barrier and saw it start pulsing.

"Did someone leave?" Jellal ask.

"Impossible, no one is ready yet. We haven't planned out our next rescuers." Gajeel said.

"So does that mean someone came in?"

Gajeel was about to say that didn't make sense again, but paused when he realized...

"Rogue." He whispered.

"Rogue?" Jellal repeated then started chasing after Gajeel as he started heading towards the entrance.

"That idiot! That fucking idiot! Why did he come back?!" Gajeel yelled.

"Maybe he remembered Gajeel! That's the only think that could explain it!" Jellal said.

"Well I'm just going to throw him right back over then if that's the case! He can't come back!"

He couldn't, not with so many shadows still lurking around. This wasn't supposed to happen yet, that spell was supposed to work for a couple of years, not one. The Shadow Elements still wasn't a safe enough place for him.

"What's happening over there?" Jellal yelled pointing to the side.

There was a huge crowd of Elements surrounded all huddled up; normally when Elements did that it was a fight. Gajeel started seeing people flying in the air and knew he was right, stopping in his tracks.

"Keep going Jellal, I need to stop this." Gajeel said jogging over there.

"What?! Are you sure?! I can handle a fight!"

"Yeah, now hurry up! I'll catch up in a minute!" Gajeel said running over there.

"Alright! I'll find him Gajeel!"

"GODDAMMIT! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ALL ABOUT FIGHTING?! WE'RE ALL BROTHERS HERE! WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO YOUR KING?!" Gajeel roared throwing his Element's around like rag dolls.

"THERE'S AN EARTH ELEMENT HERE THOUGH!" One yelled before Gajeel knocked him out.

"Earth Element?" Gajeel asked before everything around him paused.

Time was still as Gajeel turned, looking around. It may have all been his imagination, but maybe he saw a flicker of soft green.

"Levy." Gajeel whispered.

All the Shadow Elements rumbling found themselves sinking inside the ground. They all started yelling and screaming, struggling to get out. Gajeel ignored all their cries as they sank, the view he's been waiting to see appearing behind all the bodies.

Rogue was there, his fists up, shadows at his side. He blinked, noticing his enemies disappearing, and lowered his defenses once he saw his brother was there. Levy turned, seeing him and smiling. She forgot about their arguments, their year long separation, and just remembered the good times between them. She smiled brightly which made Gajeel's frozen heart... warm.

All the Elements once threatening them disappeared into the Earthland, repairing somewhere else in the Shadow Land. Gajeel was just left with his brother and his once friend. Rogue was the first to run over, Gajeel expecting a hug but instead got a fist to the face.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT'S THE SECOND TIME TODAY!" Gajeel yelled touching his bottom lip.

"I UNDERSTOOD I WAS UNDERCONTROL BY AN EVIL SHADOW! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WANTED TO HELP ME AND GIVE ME A BETTER LIFE! I EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU TOSSED ME INTO THE EARTH ELEMENT TERRITORY, BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO ERASE MY MEMORIES!" Rogue screamed.

"If I didn't you would have came back Rogue and I wasn't ready for you yet. I wanted to welcome you home to a place that was welcoming, not corrupted like this." Gajeel said.

"Still! You were my brother Gajeel! Making me forget you, forget all the hardship you've gone through for me, everything you've ever done for me," Rogue hiccuped, tears appearing in his eyes, "is the absolute WORSE thing you could have ever done to me!"

"I'm sorry Rogue, I would have come back for you. I knew it wasn't permanent, I was just trying to create a better place to call home." Gajeel said softly.

"I don't care where we live Gajeel, on the streets, in a castle, in a cardboard box. As long as you're there I'd be happy, we're brothers. I love you."

Gajeel smirked and held his arms open, Rogue running right into them.

"I missed you Ryos." Gajeel whispered.

"I missed you too Gajeel." Rogue mumbled back.

Levy hugged herself in the background, smiling to herself. It was alright that she was forgotten about, their reunion as brothers was more important. Gajeel pulled back and smiled, ruffling Rogue's hair before looking up. He flinched lightly seeing Levy and patted his brother's shoulders before he started walking over.

"Hi Gajeel." Levy said, smiling a little.

"Hey Princess," Gajeel smiled back, "you look nice."

"You look... different. Look, I wasn't going to come here, but Erza told me this story between her and your previous King, and it sounded so much like ours that I didn't want to have any regrets and I just needed to know if you truly felt that way or if you were protecting me and look, Gajeel just tell me if you love me or not. If you do, I'll love you back, but if you don't... I'll return back to my Earth Element."

Gajeel chuckled a little bit, getting ready to open his mouth and voice his true feelings. What could he offer her though? Nearly five minutes in here and she was already getting jumped, injured. If he returned her feelings, she'd want to stay... right? Gajeel couldn't go with her, he wasn't going to abandon his people, it was just like Jellal was telling him. What kind of future could they have together?

Rogue saw his brother's hesitation and walked over, deciding to help by giving him a hard smack on the head.

"Ouch!" Gajeel yelled.

"Don't tell me you're really thinking this over? A beautiful Element is confessing her feelings for you right now and you're just staring at her? If you don't want her that's one thing, but if you're about to say no because of the barrier and dangers of being together then I'll take her up on that offer. Levy and I got quite close this pass year and I've found that I've grown quite found of her." Rogue smirked at his brother.

Levy blushed and clutched her skirt while Gajeel turned with his jaw dropped to Rogue, reaching out and grabbing his collar.

"HELL NO! SHE'S MY GIRL!"

"Tell her that then." Rogue smiled motioning to her.

Gajeel pouted and turned to the side, staring with a frown at her. Levy titled her head and smiled, taking a step closer.

"I'm sorry about how we left things." He started.

Levy nodded.

"I was doing it to protect you."

"I know, Rogue told me everything. Even though he was being controlled, he was still conscious through it all."

"Oh... well then, I guess there's only one thing left to do." Gajeel said walking over.

He gripped Levy's waist and dipped her down, smashing their lips together. Levy's eyes widened, Gajeel closed his eyes, and Rogue started laughing.

…


	34. Lights

**BlackLynx17: So the next few chapters don't have a break in between, so I'm going to be cutting them off in places that just seem right. This all happens in one go at the same time, you're just getting small parts though.**

**MY REVIEWS! THANK YOU!**

**I think you are all going to enjoy this very much.**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 34

Lights

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"-I- I've fallen in love with you Juvia Lockster." Gray confessed, eyes closed shut, face bright red.

Juvia's eyes widened largely, tears coming to the corner of her eyes as she finally heard the words she's always dreamed of him say to her.

"-wanted to say yes, and I'm hoping that the offer still stands now that the barriers broken, because I really love you Doranbolt. I love you." Wendy looked up with a bright red face, her eyes mirroring tears as she confessed.

Doranbolt couldn't believe this was happening to him. She loved him, she loved him, she wanted to say yes before, but he didn't her the chance to let her think it through and she-she- she loved him! His jaw went slack for a minute as he replayed her confession in his mind.

"Will you marry me Lucy Heartfilia?" Natsu asked, nudging his nose into Lucy's soft blonde hair.

Lucy cried softly as she hugged Natsu back, the flames feeling more solid now and less warm. She started nodding her head up and down, words failing to express how happy she was.

Levy felt like her heart was about to explode, her heart and her lungs if she didn't get some air soon. Gajeel didn't seem to care or notice at all, Levy really needed to breathe though so she stomped on his foot.

That seemed to got his attention.

"OUCH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR LEVY?!" Gajeel howled.

That seemed to catch everyone else attention as well, all except for Juvia who was nearly passing out after finally being confessed to. The room was dead silent as the eight Elements all looked at each other, Juvia couldn't contain her happiness though as she broke it.

"AW GRAY I LOVE YOU TOO!" She cheered jumping on top of him.

"Ah! Juvia!" Gray yelled falling back from surprise.

She pressed their lips together and all eyes turned to them, Doranbolt and Natsu raising an eyebrow while Lucy giggled, Wendy averted her eyes, and Levy try and comfort Gajeel who was jumping up and down on one leg.

"Juvia! Sense the mood! Look at where we are!" Gray managed to say between kisses.

Juvia paused her puckered up lips and looked up, spotting several people around her that wasn't there before. She leaned up, dragging Gray with her, and smiled lightly as she stared at them all.

"Hello." She greeted.

"Hi." Mostly everyone said back.

"Gray, who are these people?" Juvia whispered behind her smile.

"I have no idea, when I opened my eyes they were just there. I don't see Pops, or the ice or water at all; something must have happened." Gray whispered back.

"Oh my goodness! You're an Ice Element aren't you?! And you! You're a Water Element!" Levy gasped, jumping up and down alongside Gajeel, from excitement though, not pain.

"Yeah," Gray said noticing something different about the other people.

They weren't the same Elements as he was, all of them were different. There was an older looking gentleman dressed up in black clothing alongside a cute little puffball, dressed up in a bright purple and dress. Across from them were a beautiful blonde woman dressed in white with a irritating looking man dressed in red. The girl who just voiced herself was wearing all green, the man now standing instead of hopping next to her in all black and gray.

"You all are different Elements." Gray said, his voice sounding surprised.

Doranbolt wrapped his arm around Wendy, not being able to wipe the grin off his face after hearing her confession. He wanted to kiss her right after that, propose all over again, and would have done it if they were still in the Lightning Element. The man dressed in only pants was right though, there were surrounded right now by different Elements and Doranbolt didn't know if they were friendly or vicious. Regardless of which, he wasn't about to let anything happen to Wendy and gently started pushing her behind him.

Lucy gasped, staring at everyone with just as much excitement as Levy. The naked man had been correct! All of them looked different, seemed different, acted different! So many colors, all just like how Natsu described them kind of and almost how she tried to image them! She couldn't believe she was standing in front of different Elements! Maybe even all of them!

"Lucy, where in the world are we?!" Natsu asked looking around the room.

It was a great big room, the walls golden and seemingly to resemble the inside of a tree, roots growing all around. The floor was clear underneath them making it look like they could fall at any given second, something red glowing underneath their feet in the middle. Lucy turned around to answer Natsu, her voice got caught in her throat though.

"Natsu." Lucy whispered.

Natsu looked up, raising an eyebrow at that voice of hers that she used. Lucy looked completely shocked, her eyes wide as she reached out to touch his cheek.

"I can see you Natsu." Lucy whispered.

He looked nothing like she imagined, nothing like she could have imagined. She knew the colors he was though, remembering exactly how he described himself to her. Tan skin, slightly darker than her own, dark charcoal eyes, beautiful charcoal eyes, bright salmon hair, and his outfit. Bright red, his fire red she was just seeing him as.

"Oh snap! I can see you too! Hehehe, I guess I didn't really notice earlier Luce since this is always how I imagined you." Natsu grinned brightly at him, pearly white teeth shining.

Though Natsu had the outline right, he had the beauty all wrong. Her hair was much brighter and softer than the blonde he imagined, her eyes more brown than he thought, her smile more brilliant, her beauty more beautiful, everything about her just enhanced. Lucy cried and she giggled, unable to take a hold on how incredibly lucky she was right now. She flung herself onto Natsu and wrapped her arms around him, pressing their lips together for their first kiss.

"See Gray, they're kissing. I don't see the big deal about us doing the same." Juvia pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gray noticed the stances of the older Element dressed in black and the pierced up one, who started whispering to the short blue haired girl next to him.

"Juvia, now is no time to be lovey dovey. Right now we need to focus on how we're going to get back home." Gray told her, since they were obviously not in the Ice Element anymore.

"Gajeel, Gajeel stop being so paranoid and calm down." Levy pouted.

"I'm not being paranoid, I'm trying to save your life! Now when I say now, run and I'll be right behind you." Gajeel growled.

"Geeze Gajeel, hello everyone! Hi, hello, excuse me fellow Elements!" Levy called out, clapping her hands to capture everyone's attention.

Doranbolt flinched at the move while Wendy snuck a peek from behind his back, Gray and Juvia both turned as they helped each other up, and Natsu and Lucy parted.

"Princess! What are you doing?!" Gajeel hissed grabbing her shoulder.

"Stop it Gajeel, hi everyone! I'm Levy McGarden, an Earth Element, and this is my..." Levy didn't know what to call Gajeel. They kissed and they were in love, so maybe partner would be a good thing, but they weren't married and they hadn't officially talked about what they were, "this is Gajeel Redfox. He's king of the Shadow Elements, and he is a Shadow Element. We mean none of you any harm at all, we just want to get back home. Gajeel over here thinks you are all trying to kill us, so could we go around the room, introducing ourselves, and confirm that no one is here to hurt anybody?" Levy asked politely.

Wendy started giggling and walked forward.

"Wendy!" Doranbolt hissed reaching for her.

"Hi Levy! Hi Gajeel! My name is Wendy Marvell, I'm Queen of the Sky Elements, not to mention one of them, and I mean you no harm. Me and my companion here are wondering how we got here too and just want to get home as well." Wendy introduced, smiling back at Levy.

Levy snapped her fingers, companion. She could have used that word. Doranbolt pulled Wendy back towards him and she snapped harshly at him, "it's your turn!" She growled making Doranbolt sigh.

"Doranbolt Gryder, King of the Lightning Elements, this girl's fiancee. I don't know how we got here, but just as she said we're only trying to get back. Try and stop us or harm us in anyway and I won't play nice." Doranbolt said, summoning electricity in his hands to threaten.

"Stop that!" Wendy pouted pulling his hand down.

Doranbolt looked down to tell her it was suppose to make them seem more threatening, but paused seeing her bright face. He wondered why her face would be so bright, but then remembered how he introduced himself. Doranbolt chuckled lightly as a smile of his own appeared on his face.

"That is, if you don't mind marrying me." He whispered leaning down towards her ear, telling only her.

"Of course I wouldn't, I love you." Wendy pouted with a bright red face.

Doranbolt chuckled and kissed her cheek, "I love you too. Now let me protect you so we can actually live to get married."

"We mean you no harm." Gray said waving his hand in the air, "I'm Gray Fullbuster, next leader of the Ice Elements-"

"And I'm his girlfriend Juvia Lockster, next leader of the Water Elements! Gray right here is mine and mine alone so none of you better want him, look at him, desire him, hurt him, or even touch him." Juvia glared.

"I guess that leaves just us then, huh Natsu? Well hi everybody, I'm Lucy Heartfilia, next leader of the-... er, Natsu I don't think I'm actually going to be leader of the Light Element anymore now that we're getting married." Lucy said, blinking slightly.

"Oh, well you can be bride to the Fire Element leader with me- whoa, wait a second. Married?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, I mean you didn't actually think I'd say no after everything we've been through? Did you?" Lucy asked then giggled, "silly Natsu. There's no way I'm ever letting you go again." She smiled before turning back to the people. "I'm a Light Element, and well the wife to the next leader of the Fire Elements." She introduced.

Natsu had a dopey expression on his face as he introduced himself, "Hi I'm happy, I mean Natsu Dragneel and I'm the going to be the leader of the Fire Element as soon as I get married. This girl's going to marry me." He smiled dreamily.

Lucy giggled and pushed him lightly.

"Congratulations." Levy cheered.

"Congratulations!" Wendy seconded.

"Oh Gray, we should get married when we return home." Juvia clapped.

"One thing at a time Juvia, please." Gray blushed.

"Okay, so now that we've introduced ourselves and told that we aren't going to harm one another, could you please calm down Gajeel?" Levy asked turning to her companion.

Gajeel let out a rough sigh as he let go on Levy's shoulder, moving it instead around her waist as he pulled her in close.

"This is amazing! Shadow, Earth, Lightning, Sky, Fire, Light; here I was raised all of you were extinct." Juvia voiced.

"Me too." Several people voiced with her.

"We're all alive though and pretty much kicking." Gray said.

"I wonder why though? I mean, Levy, Lucy, Natsu, you three didn't seem surprised. Did you know about us?" Wendy asked.

"Well Natsu and I knew the Elements still existed, yes, but we didn't know why we couldn't see or visit each other." Lucy said.

"That's because of the barriers our saviors made to protect one another." Levy voiced.

All attention turned on her, looking towards Levy thinking she was the smartest and most knowledgeable person in the room right now.

"You know about the barrier?" Gray asked confused.

"You too? So we weren't the only ones disconnected?" Doranbolt asked.

"Are you saying that the Earth Element was keeping all the other Elements prisoners too?!" Gajeel asked, amazed.

Elements started asking Levy questions and she blushed from embarrassment, shaking her head side to side.

"Wait! Hold on a minute! I don't know about everything! Just please, listen!" She voiced then took a deep breath. "Long ago, about a thousand years ago, there was a war between Earth and Shadow Elements and that's why my savior, a Wisdom Tree, created a barrier between us. I don't know about the other Elements, but that's why we had ours. The barriers though are supposed to act like a shield and protect us, so I think that we all became disconnected because our saviors were trying to protect us from each other." Levy said.

"I can fill in the blanks." Natsu said, "so from what my old man told me the first war started with the Shadow and Earth Elements, like er Levy! Said just now. The first barrier was made and then the second by the Sky and Lightening Elements. Soon after that was the Ice and Water Elements, and even though the Fire and Light Elements were staying out of the war and were buddies, because of the other barriers they couldn't reach each other either. How did he explain it? Um, for Fire in order to get to Sky we have to pass Lightening, in order to get to Earth we have to pass Ice and Water, even if we are friends with the Sky if Lightening cuts us off then we can only go to Lightening." Natsu tried to remember.

"If that was the truth then why are some of us disconnected from each other? If Sky made the barrier, then the Fire Elements should still be able to visit the Lightening." Doranbolt said.

"But if you think of it in war terms Doranbolt, then it sort of makes sense. You want allies in war, right? So if the Lightening and Sky Elements were fighting and if the Fire were the Lightening Elements friends then wouldn't the Sky Elements want to prevent them from getting together and overpowering them?" Lucy asked, "they might have created a barrier to prevent that."

"Why are we even talking or caring about this? None of this matters. I just want to return home to my Element with my Earth Element. Instead of blabbing about the unknown, why don't we all make ourselves useful and try finding a way out of here?" Gajeel yelled.

"Gajeel! I'm sorry everyone, he's really nice when you get to know him." Levy apologized.

"I don't think I want to know him, nice or not." Natsu snorted.

"What was that Fire Element?" Gajeel growled, summoning his shadows.

"What?! Did I not speak loud enough?! Or were there screws in your ears?! Better yet, your brains!" Natsu yelled, lighting on fire.

"Elements only have one brain you moron!" Gajeel yelled back.

"Stay behind me Wendy." Doranbolt warned.

"Wow! He's on fire! And look! His shadow is changing into shapes!" Wendy watched starstruck.

"Gajeel!" Levy yelled.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled.

"Juvia, could you cool them both off?" Gray asked pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Anything for you Gray." Juvia smiled summoning some water.

She moved it around, splitting the water into two groups and placed one over Natsu's head and one over Gajeel's before snapping her fingers and making them drop. The two hot headed Elements yelled in surprised, Natsu trying to wipe the water off while Gajeel calmed down and shook his hair.

"Thank you. We can't fight now and since we all want to go home, let's just do that. We can all just... stick to a wall and try and find an exit. Does that sound fair?" Gray asked.

"I want to know more about the other Elements! Can the Earth Element move the Earth? Or the Light make the lights in the room flicker on and off?" Wendy asked.

"Wendy, now is not the time to be curious." Doranbolt told her.

"What? I want to know though! Can the Ice Element make ice? And what's that pulsing red thing underneath us? It seems to be getting bigger, and look! More lights are popping up around it!" Wendy gasped.

What? All pair of eyes looked down at the transparent ground, noticing the red light indeed bigger and larger than when they first noticed, nearly covering up the entire floor. There were eight other pairs of colors flying around it like stars.

"Look! Ones pink!" Wendy cheered.

"And yellow." Doranbolt announced.

"Gray there's a dark blue one!" Juvia giggled.

"And a light blue one." Gray said.

"Natsu look, that one's red." Lucy said.

"And that one's white, or well just a light." Natsu added.

"Gajeel, I see a green one. It looks like home." Levy smiled.

"Is that one black or purple? I can't tell." Gajeel leaned down closer.

The lights started shining brighter once the colors were called and left the floor, appearing in front of the Elements that they belonged to. Those Elements looked shocked and scared, some excited as they all reached out to touch their color.


	35. Saviors

**BlackLynx17: So here you go everyone, you all have been waiting and here it is! The long awaited questions you have been searching for! Are you excited?! I am a little bit.**

**Like I said last chapter this happens right after everybody touches their lights, and I do the same thing again because this chapter is way too long. Next chapter it will be right after each other again, no breaks.**

**That being said THANKS FOR READING! AND REVIEWING! HAHAHAHAHAHA!**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 35

Saviors

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"WHEN I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN FOR A THOUSAND YEARS I MEANT THAT YOU BASTERD! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" A beautiful bright pink and fluffy dragon roared from the light Wendy touched, a pedestal appearing out of nowhere for the dragon to rest on above her as she roared at the yellow light.

"You would think that a thousand years would cool you down, but you're just as angry from the day we separated." An electric yellow dragon said calmly, it's bright green eyes staring lovingly at the beautiful sky dragon as he flew up and took the pedestal next to her.

"WE BROKE UP! BROKE! UP!"

"I never agreed to breaking up, I still love you Grandine."

"WHY?! I WAS DOING JUST GREAT ON MY OWN! I WAS TAKING CARE OF MY ELEMENT AND WE WERE DOING JUST FINE! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME AND MESS IT ALL UP BROTHER?!" A water dragon roared coming from the dark blue light Juvia touched, its tail swishing back and forth as i's yellow eyes illuminated from the water.

"I wasn't trying to ruin anything, I just wanted to see you Kohaku. Can't you see I was worried? I just wanted to find out if you were okay." An icicle dragon said appearing behind Gray when he touched the light blue light. Coldness was seeping out of it and Gray sighed lightly, missing the feeling.

"NO! YOU ALWAYS COME AND RUIN MY FUN! YOU NEVER THINK I CAN DO ANYTHING ON MY OWN YUKI!" The water dragon whined, leaping up to its pedestal.

"Now that isn't true Kohaku, I know you are capable of wondrous things." The ice dragon said, making huge ice steps to reach his that disappeared once he was up there.

"Igneel, it has been so long, but finally we're all connected together. How has it been my friend?" A bright clear dragon asked appearing in front of Lucy.

"Warm, ahahahaha! Hikari, how I have missed you the same." A fire red dragon said, headbutting his head against the light dragon's head.

The two laughed and flew to their pedestal together, smiles on their faces.

"Metalicana..." An Earth dragon said lightly, hiding herself behind Levy.

The dragon that came out when Gajeel touched his light was huge and metallic, looking like something that was made from the scraps scattered in the Shadow Element. Gajeel mumbled a soft "cool" as he looked at the dragon, its red eyes glaring down at him before looking at the earth dragon.

"Cosmos." The shadow dragon said before turning his head, leaping to its pedestal.

The earth dragon sighed, her flowers blooming all over her earth-self wilting as she moved to her own, crawling up and lying down with her head hanging low.

Wendy squealed as she ran into the middle of the room, spinning around to look at all the dragons. Droanbolt followed her, mouth hanging open, as well as Gray and Juvia who wanted a look as well. Natsu was trying to call the fire dragon's attention, being led by Lucy who was simply amazed and had to get a better look. Gajeel grabbed Levy and walked her to the others, thinking that if these dragons were going to attack that they would have a better chance with everyone else.

"Dragons! Dragons! Oh my goodness, they're dragons! Doranbolt, give me a boost! I want to see the pretty water one! Oh! And the pretty pink one with the fluffy feathers!" Wendy cheered.

"Pretty?! I am ferocious you stupid Sky Element!" The water dragon roared.

"Hey! Call Wendy stupid again and I'll rip you tail right off Kohaku!" The sky dragon growled.

The two dragons started growling at each other, glaring hard.

"Doranbolt! Doranbolt! The pretty fluffy dragon knew my name!" Wendy cheered.

"Wendy, let's not antagonize the dragons right now." Doranbolt said, holding her still.

"YOU THERE BOY! YOU DO NOT COMMAND A SKY ELEMENT! CONTROL YOUR ELEMENT RAIJIN!" The Sky dragon yelled.

"He's just trying to protect her from you and Kohaku, the two of you are scary to look at." The lightning dragon chuckled.

"SHUT UP RAIJIN!"

"Grandine please! It's been a thousand years since we've all been here, can't we all just get along?!" The fire dragon roared.

"Oh, I wish I was still a tree." The earth dragon mumbled.

"Kohaku, please listen to me." The ice dragon said.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and just melt Yuki." The water dragon laughed.

The dragons all started having their own conversations, leaving the human Elements alone. Those who weren't still shock were either confused as hell wondering what was going on or trying to come up with a way out of here pronto before the dragons all attacked.

"We need a way out." Doranbolt said.

"I second that, it's kind of hard though seeing how many and how big those dragons are." Gray said.

"I think I can take them." Natsu smirked.

"Now is not that time to be playing hero Natsu." Lucy lectured.

"I can let the shadows eat us up, it might transport us back to the Shadow Element or we might end up somewhere completely out of nowhere. I'm not sure of the risks since I don't know what place, element, or world we're even in right now." Gajeel said.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take compared to these dragons." Lucy said.

"Agreed." Doranbolt nodded.

"No, stop it! Doranbolt, let me go!" Wendy yelled throwing a gust of wind his way.

Doranbolt was knocked away from her, falling into the other Elements as Wendy ran over to where the fluffy dragon was.

"She's not here to hurt me or any of us! Isn't that right fluffy dragon?" Wendy asked tilting her head.

The sky dragon stopped arguing and looked down to her Element. Her threatening face as she roared out insults suddenly turned light a sweet, a large grin revealing her pearly white fangs appearing on her face as she leaned down to pick her tiny Element up.

"Wendy!" Doranbolt yelled teleporting to her.

A tail caught him and wrapped around him tightly, the electricity around it messing about with his ability to teleport. Doranbolt couldn't move at all and instead started hitting and punching the lightning; this made the lightning dragon chuckle to himself.

"Calm down boy, she's not going to get hurt."

"You're so soft." Wendy said cuddling against her claw.

"Wendy Marvell, you don't know how happy I am to finally be able to talk to you for real now, although the first time we talked I was very angry with you." The sky dragon growled lightly.

Wendy looked up at her and gasped lightly, "are you... our savior? Cloud?"

Grandine giggled, "I was never found of that name, but yes Wendy Marvell. My dragon name is Grandine though, Queen of the Sky." Grandine introduced herself, spreading her wings out far and wide behind her.

"Wow! MY SAVIOR WAS A DRAGON!?" Wendy gasped.

"If that's the case then all our saviors are dragons, so I take it you're Lightning Cloud?" Doranbolt asked lazily raising an eyebrow.

The lightning dragon chuckled at him, "Raijin at your service. It's about time a Gryder is back as leader, I swear I don't know what your grandfather was thinking letting his sister Mavis rule. If I wanted a Dreyar to be ruler I would have chosen the Dreyars."

"Wow. I only have one question at this moment, what the hell was with you shocking me all the time?! Especially a while ago!" Doranbolt yelled, "that really hurt!"

Rajin blinked then started laughing, sparks flying out as he did. "That last time I was trying to warn you not to move because I sensed your little sky element coming over to meet you; those other times though were just gently nudges to get your ass in gear to hurry up and break the barrier, that and because sometimes you were really stupid. Just a lightning cloud, ha! I am no mere lightning cloud! But the King of Thunder! Raijin!" He roared.

Grandine laid down on her pedestal and rolled her eyes, "yeah right, more like king of fatheadedness."

"Grandy, please." Raijin said.

"Don't you dare Grandy please me Raijin! Though the years have passed I still have not forgiven you!" Grandine growled.

"I still love you Grandine." Raijin said softly, his tail falling off the pedestal as he leaned over a little.

"Well I still hate you, hmpth." Grandine said turning her head, smacking Raijin right in the face with her own tail.

Wendy squeezed her way out of Grandine's claw and stood on the pedestal, looking at the distance between her and Doranbolt who was still being held captive in his savior's claw.

"Seems our saviors don't like each other very much." Wendy said.

Doranbolt shrugged, "seems so. Shouldn't matter to us though since we like each other very much." He smiled.

"Wendy, I don't want you talking to a Lightning Element." Grandine growled turning her around.

"Now stop that Grandine, they're in love." Raijin said.

"No children of mine are going to be with any children of yours!" Grandine roared.

"She hasn't changed one bit." The fire dragon sighed.

"She still loves him though." The light dragon chuckled.

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Just the way she talks, she's still head over heels about him."

The fire dragon looked at the bickering dragons and shook his head, "I don't see it."

"Well I do, and if you really notice there's a soft blush on her cheeks." The light dragon leaned in to whisper.

The fire dragon squinted his eyes to see and started laughing loud and hard. Natsu's head turned, hearing his laughter, it reminding him of fire crackling, a familiar fire burning that he's known his whole life.

"Inferno?" Natsu called out.

His savior chuckled and looked down, seeing the little rascal staring up at him. "Natsu Dragneel, my how I was hoping you were the chosen one. Ever since you first took a bite out of me I knew you were special. In your realm Inferno would be the accurate name, but here you can call me Igneel." He laughed reaching out to grab him.

Natsu yelped as he was trapped in his savior's claw and brought up to his face.

"And as Igneel, King of the Fire and Flames, I'd like to personally thank you for breaking the barrier and reuniting me with my friend." Igneel bowed lightly.

"Uh, no problem. Now could you bring me down? Or maybe bring Lucy up with me? Kind of hard to protect here if I'm so far away." Natsu said.

"No worries Natsu, no one here is going to harm you. Igneel and I will make sure to protect you and Lucy... aw Little Lucy, I was rooting for you and Natsu this whole time." The light dragon smiled, offering her tail to her.

Lucy stared at the light and placed one foot onto it, feeling solid enough to stand on she placed her other foot next and held on tight as her savior brought her up to her level.

"I'm-"

"Hikari, I heard Igneel call you that. You're my savior, right? The Light Pillar? Queen of all Light?" Lucy asked.

"Always such a smart one, you and your mother." Hikari said nudging her snout against Lucy.

Lucy started laughing as she felt the familiar feeling of being surround by light and wrapped her arms around Hikari.

"Lucy's a keeper, huh Natsu?" Igneel nudged him with a talon, raising his eyes up a little bit.

Natsu blushed and laughed it off, pushing at Ingeel's claw. "Shut up!"

"Shy one, isn't he? Not the worst of Igneel's flock though, definitely a keeper. Congrats on your wedding, I hope you'll have it in the Light Country." Hikari smiled.

Lucy blushed and nodded, "we'll try. If my father doesn't agree though-"

"Pish posh, you're old man is crazy. Don't worry about him, as soon as we return home I'll kick him off of the throne and give it all to you Lucy. That man has too many worries on his plate even though we're a peaceful country. He worries and stresses way too much."

Lucy started laughing along with her savior, Natsu and Igneel joining in as well for fun. Gray walked up to his savior, quickly realizing who he was, and knelt down on one knee as he held his tattooed arm up.

"Great Iceberg, please forgive me for stealing your powers. I humbly return them to you, alongside with my life to make up for endangering our whole element." Gray apologized.

"The power has always been yours to borrow for any Fullbuster. So apologetic and careful, just like the first Fullbuster. He also mistook my name for Iceberg, though if he would have poured the water out of his ears he would have heard the name Yuki, King of the Snow and Ice. You look so much like your grandfather, let me get a better look at you child." Yuki said slamming his tail against his pedestal.

An ice block appeared underneath Gray and raised him up to his savior, Gray walking off it and kneeling once more in front of him. Yuki chuckled and raised the young Fullbuster's head, turning it side to side.

"So much like your grandfather, its uncanny." Yuki said then bowed his head right back. "If there is anyone who should be grateful it should be me, for you have reunited me with my brother and there is not enough thanks I could give you in return for doing what I have been trying to achieve for the past thousand years. You and your young mate." Yuki said.

"Please! You can drop the humble almighty act. It doesn't suit your character at all." The water dragon spat out.

"Kohaku, please, enough of this." Yuki begged.

"Don't treat me like the younger brother Yuki and call me by my name! I am a full grown dragon now with my own Element and everything!" Kohaku roared.

Juvia walked over to her savior and stared at him, seeing nothing but a little "child."

Kohaku's head snapped over, "what did you just say Lockster?"

"You do not scare me, child." Juvia smirked.

Kohaku's water started boiling as he growled darkly. He waved his claw and grabbed Juvia, bringing her up to him so he could yell at her face, "DO NOT CALL ME A CHILD! I AM KING OF ALL THE WATERS IN YOUR SAD, PATHETIC REALM; YOU CAN ADDRESS ME AS KING KOHAKU AND NOTHING ELSE!"

"I'll address you how I see you and that is more like a child throwing a tantrum than a king."

"THAT IS IT! I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN HOW YOU BETRAYED YOUR OWN ELEMENT! FROM NOW ON YOU ARE ELEMENTLESS! YOU ARE BANNED FROM THE WATER ELEMENT!"

Juvia snorted and waved her hand, "is that supposed to be a threat? Fine by me, I'll just become an Ice Element along with my beloved Gray."

Kohaku's waters turned red as he glared at his brother, "DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! YOU AND YOUR SAVED?! WHY IS IT THAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO TAKE EVERYTHING IMPORTANT TO ME?!"

"That's not true Kohaku." Yuki said reaching his claw out.

"YES IT IS! YOU ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS DO IT!" Kohaku whined, shaking his head side to side.

Juvia sighed and reached out, waving her hand through water claw that was keeping her prisoner. Kohaku stopped his crying and looked over at Juvia.

"There, there, there, there. No need to cry child, especially in front of the other dragons." Juvia said.

Kohaku sniffed, "I know right! It's all my brother's fault, making me look so weak."

Kohaku settled down on the pedestal, curling up and dropping Juvia in front of him. Juvia sat down and rubbed the nearest water next to her, believing it was part of Kohaku.

"Isn't that okay though? I mean, not looking weak, but your brother teasing you? I'm sure he makes you look strong as well." Juvia said.

"No, he doesn't! Brother doesn't care at all about me or my feelings." Kohaku said.

"Is that so? Well your brother sounds like an asshole." Juvia said.

"Hey." Yuki frowned trying to get in.

"Metalicana." The earth dragon mumbled lightly.

"I still cannot believe that I allowed myself to get imprisoned by you, ugh." The shadow dragon sneered.

The earth dragon lowered her head and Levy frowned, walking over. Gajeel held her tight next to him though.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"You see everyone else Gajeel, these dragons are our saviors." Levy said.

"So? We should be trying to leave now while everyone else is distracted, while our dragons are distracted with each other." Gajeel said.

"That's enough Gajeel, just because you don't think of your dragon as a savior doesn't mean that I feel the same way. I owe a lot to her and I am going to give her my thanks. You can come along with me if you like, but if not then stay down here and yell at your dragon for betraying you or whatever. Just don't stand in my way." Levy lectured.

And there was nothing Gajeel could really say to that, so he let her go. Levy huffed and nodded as she walked over, holding out her hands towards her savior.

"Excuse me? Wisdom Tree?" She called out.

Cosmos stopped focusing on herself and looked down, staring at the small Earth Element underneath her.

"McGarden." She whispered.

She was holding her hands out for a reason. Cosmos leaned over and reached down, extending her claw towards Levy, who gladly grabbed a hold and was lifted back onto the pedestal with her savior.

"I just wanted to say thank you Wisdom Tree for providing my people everything they needed to survive and live on, and for making sure our ancestors died peacefully and were reborn to stay connected with us and help us live on. So thank you." Levy said, bowing down.

"You make me sound like a savior McGarden." Cosmos blushed.

"But you are, and you can call me Levy."

"Then you can call me Cosmos, Queen of all things Earth and Life, but savior I am not. If I was a savior I would have made sure that all my children would live out their full lives happily, safely, but I was not able to do that for your family along with many others." Cosmos frowned, bowing her head back.

"But none of us blame you. What happened was just the nature of things, the circle of life. Because of my parents deaths, some other Element was able to live. Don't you know that Wis- Cosmos? Weren't you connected with all of us?"

"Well, I was-"

"Then you should know how much we all love and adore you." Levy smiled brightly.

Cosmos blushed lightly in embarrassment and wrapped her tail around Levy, nudging her head using her tail. The moment was quickly ruined by Metalicana's harsh barks of laughter.

"I don't know why you are correcting her young Earth Element, Cosmos is hardly a savior of any kind."

This quickly pissed Gajeel off hearing something like that.

"I don't think you should be talking old dragon! You have no right to decide who's a savior and who isn't with your reputation!" He yelled out.

Metalicana looked at the small bug that was under his watch and scoffed, "are you an idiot? Why are you defending her? Don't you know that she is the reason why we were imprisoned in the first place? If anything you should be joining me."

"She imprisoned you for a reason! Our element was getting out of hands! Where were you when we needed our savior?! History states that our savior, you, gathered up all the weaklings, the unwanted, and unwelcomed Elements and made a grand home for them! Where we lived wasn't a home, but a prison!" Gajeel yelled.

All the other Elements started picking up on the argument and turned their heads and ears towards it. Their dragons did the same, some frowning while others growled as they interrupted their conversations and train of thoughts. Igneel made the motion to step in, Metalicana's voice completely blew his away though.

"Once again you IDIOT! SHE WAS THE ONE WHO CREATED THAT BARRIER, NOT ME!"

"BUT YOU ALLOWED HER TO! YOU ALLOWED OUR ELEMENT TO RUN FREE AND PUSHED HER HAND! LOOK AT HER! DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT SAD EXCUSE FOR A DRAGON COMPARTED TO ALL THESE OTHERS COULD TAKE ON YOU UNLESS SHE WAS FORCED TO?! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE UP THERE ACTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY WHEN COMPARTED TO THESE OTHER DRAGONS AND SAVIORS, YOU'RE THE WORSE ONE!"

Cosmos hung her head down, a dark cloud looming over her while Levy tried to comfort her. Metalicana started growling at his stupid Element and jumped down from his pedestal, looming over Gajeel now with bloodshot eyes.

"You, a mere mortal, dares speak to me, the King of Shadows, like this?" Metalicana asked.

"Stop talking all high and mighty, I can talk to you however I want since I'm the one who is taking care of our element, not you." Gajeel said.

His ignorance was pushing Metalicana too far. What was the death of one Shadow Element going to do? Absolutely nothing, so there was nothing holding him back as he reached his claw up and got ready to strike him down. Cosmos flew off her pedestal though and stopped the claw, grabbing Gajeel with her tail and holding him protectively behind her.

"That is enough Metalicana." Cosmos spoke.

"Shut up! I don't have to listen to you! Matter of fact, you should be the one I'm picking a fight with right now." Metalicana growled.

"No, let me go! I don't need your protection earth dragon, just protect Levy. I have a bone to pick with my so called savior." Gajeel spat out.

"Gajeel." Levy whispered, touching his arm.

"No! I want to know the reason! I want to know why you didn't try and help us! Why you abandoned us when that barrier went up! Why you didn't try and steer us in the right direction before the barrier went up to even prevent it from going up in the first place!" Gajeel roared.

"Because I simply didn't care!" Metalicana said.

"HOW COULDN'T YOU HAVE CARED!? YOU FOUND US! YOU MADE US BELIEVE YOU WERE OUR SAVIOR!"

"AND I WAS! A SAVIOR ISN'T ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE THOUGH!"

"SO ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU GOT BORED?! THAT THE REASON MY LITTLE BROTHER WAS BORN ON THE STREETS, THE REASON WE LOST OUR PARENTS AND WENT STARVING FOR NIGHTS ON ENDS ALONG WITH MANY OTHER CHILDREN WAS BECAUSE YOU GOT BORED OF PLAYING SAVIOR?! THAT IS A LOAD OF BULLSHIT!"

"Yeah, well it's the truth." Metalicana shrugged, turning his head away.

"Stop it Gajeel Redfox, you don't know how much your words wound him." Cosmos said gently.

"SHUT UP! I DON'T CARE ABOUT HIM, HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T CARE WHEN RYOS NEARLY DIED!"

"But he does care young Shadow Element. The shadows are a hard thing to control, which is why Metalicana is the King of the Shadow. He is the strongest dragon there is, stronger than all of us in his room. The shadows are a hard thing to control though, especially with so many of you following after him. Your Element is the strongest there is Gajeel, and with so many of you and Metalicana simply stuck in a darkness form how could he control you all?" Cosmos asked.

"The same way you controlled your people!" Gajeel yelled.

"But my people were all good from the start. Metalicana got all the badness and darkness in the world, Elements with no hearts or consciousness whatsoever. He tried his best to change them, but in his form there was no one listening. It was all mindless killing until I stepped in." Cosmos said.

"I don't need your help defending me Cosmos!" Metalicana roared.

"The barrier was a way to protect all of you. Even though Metalicana would never ask, he needed help and that's all I was trying to do Metalicana. I was simply trying to help you." Cosmos said looking at him.

"Well you didn't! In fact you made things worse, listening to Redfox over there! Your barrier changed nothing! It didn't help, it only made things worse!" Metalicana said.

"It helped saved my people, and many other Elements." Cosmos argued.

"But what about my Elements?!"

"It's not my fault that you couldn't control them Metalicana! If you wanted help then you should have asked sooner! Not wait until you're on the brink of destruction and then still be as stubborn as a mule!"

"I didn't need your help, nor anyone elses!"

"Oh, I'm starting to get things now. You're an idiot just as well." Gajeel said interrupting the argument.

Natsu started laughing, Lucy quickly shushed him though as she was trying to watch. Metalicana blinked and moved his head over to stare at Gajeel. Cosmos brought her tail up and placed Gajeel back down on the ground, but kept Levy near her.

"What?" Metalicana asked.

"It's obvious that if our savior was dumb, that the people would be dumb too so you have only yourself to blame for that. I guess we can thank you for that and our pride. You're just like my brother actually, scared to ask for help."

"I'm not scared of anything!" Metalicana roared.

"I was wrong about being bored with us, you actually grew to fear us, didn't you? You were scared since you couldn't do anything to help us. That's why you ran away, right? Abandon us to fight for ourselves? Because there was nothing you could do for us. You're so stupid."

"I do not care for your insults Redfox, especially when you don't have your facts straight." Metalicana growled.

He wasn't yelling though, or getting even more angry. Gajeel glared up at him and growled right back through his teeth.

"Just admit it and I'll forgive you! There was nothing that you could do! We were out of your control! You needed some help!"

"I needed nothing."

"Everyone needs help sometimes, we just don't realize it though until it is happening. That earth dragon you're pissed off about, she was helping you. Maybe not us because we were trapped, but definitely you. Isn't that right?" Gajeel asked turning around.

Cosmos finally smiled and nodded at him, "that is correct Shadow Element. Though he may look it, Metalicana is actually a kind dragon and all that useless blood shed was slowly driving him insane. All I wanted to do was help save him, be his savior. I dedicated my Element to helping the Shadow Elements, helping his people so he could start resting with ease."

"Which is why we let the Shadow Elements try and prove themselves once again. Because you wanted to save them, because you wanted to help Metalicana regain his Element again." Levy said.

"And that's probably why Metalicana didn't do anything at all. He was giving us to Cosmos's hands instead, honestly believing that we were better off with her." Gajeel said.

"YOU WERE BETTER OFF WITH HER!" Metalicana yelled.

Cosmos gasped, Levy flinched, and Gajeel rose an eyebrow. Metalicana growled lowly before turning away, ignoring all before him now as he went back on his pedestal.

"We could have been a great Element, if you would have tried a little bit harder." Gajeel spoke.

Metalicana ignored him.

"I know my ancestors weren't easy, which is why the hardest Element was given to the strongest dragon there was. What I don't understand is how you could just give up so easily when things became too much. You must have known that you had friends, companions, or even acquaintances." Gajeel said looking around at the other dragons in the room.

Metalicana dared to look and notice the other dragons, the other saviors that protected their Elements alongside with him. Each stared at him in the eye, each silently agreeing that if asked they would have helped, even though only a few of them nodded their heads to confirm it. Right or not, Metalicana didn't care and simply snorted.

"Whatever."


	36. Dragon Master

**BlackLynx17: I did not do my best in fixing the mistakes in this chapter, it was so long and I'm so tired right now. Sorry for all the ones I'm sure you will be reading. On another note, that won't stop the story from being so good. Enjoy this chapter, this story is coming to an end in five more chapters.**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 36

Dragon Master

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_"You carry a big heart for such a dark element."_

Gajeel blinked hearing this and started looking around for the voice. It didn't sound like anybody that was currently here, but where else could the voice had come from? It was such a soft and light voice he thought it was Cosmos whispering, but when he looked at her she shook her head.

"_Then again, all of you small elements carry such big hearts."_

A warm feeling started flooding inside of everyone, right where there heart was. It felt like it was burning, surging through their blood, warming up their entire body.

"What's happening?" Natsu asked touching his own heart.

"Natsu look, that red light is getting bigger!" Lucy yelled.

All Elements and dragon's eyes turned to the floor, seeing the bright light indeed glow stronger, covering up the entire floor. Metalicana grabbed Gajeel and leaped back to his pedestal, Cosmos doing the same leaving the ground floor completely empty.

"She's here." Igneel said.

"Who Igneel?" Natsu asked.

The red light started going through the floor, appearing in front them floating and glowing. The red light started changing colors slowly, expanding shape and forming into what looked like a child. All of a sudden the lights vanished into sparks and a little girl appeared. Her eyes were a brilliant green, her long snow blonde hair touching the ground behind her, small wings on her head, a mysterious smile on her lips.

The eight dragons all bowed their heads to the little girl and the Elements stared at them before looking at the girl beneath them. Just who exactly was she, was what each of them was wondering.

"_Rise my friends, there's no need for formalities."_ The girl spoke.

"We must show our respects to the dragon master though, Master." Hikari said gently.

"_Hehehe, Hikari you're still the same. Igneel, Metalicana, Cosmos, Grandine, Raijin, Yuki, Kohaku. It's been such a long time since we've last met! I know you all must be worried about your friends, but rest assured I've been taking great care of all of the dragons."_ The dragon master smiled.

"That's good to know." Cosmos sighed out a lot.

"We all knew they would be in good hands dragon master." Raijin said.

"Hopefully none of them have been too much of a handful." Grandine said.

"_Nothing I can't handle, but for the eight of you. I've been watching over all of you as well, ever since I gave you the responsibilities to take care of my people, and I can't say that I'm very happy nor proud."_

All the dragon's dropped their heads once again, this time for a different reason though. Natsu stared at Igneel's defeat expression and simply didn't get it.

"Now wait, hold on a second. Who in the world is this chick?!" Natsu yelled.

"You would be wise to keep your mouth zipped brat in front of the dragon Master." Metalicana growled.

"Settle down Metalicana, I'm sure all of our heirs are curious. Natsu is just the only one with the courage to speak up." Igneel said looking down at him.

"_The eight elements, of course. Bring them here." _The dragon master said and raised her hands.

All of a sudden, Gray, Juvia, Natsu, Lucy, Levy, Gajeel, Doranbolt, and Wendy all found themselves being pulled and tugged over to the glowing girl. They were all brought in front of her, dropped on their feet and brought to their knees in front of such a pure being. She was incredibly beautiful, they all thought, one secretly happy that she wasn't the smallest person in the room anymore.

The dragon master smiled kindly at all of them as she walked over, touching each ones cheeks and examining them.

"_You eight are really something extraordinary, I was cheering for you all the whole time along with your saviors. I must thank each and every one of you for breaking the wretched barriers that have been keeping my dragon friends apart. Thank you Juvia." _Dragon Master said patting her cheek.

"_Thank you Gray." _She said next touching Gray's cheek. And she continued to do the same as she walked down the line, giving small smiles as she showed her gratitude, _"thank you Natsu, thank you Lucy, thank you Levy, thank you Gajeel, thank you Doranbolt, and thank you Wendy. I was really hoping for you and Doranbolt to get together, so much denial between the two of it. It was hard to watch at sometimes." _Dragon Master said.

Doranbolt laughed as Wendy blushed in embarrassment, trying to hide herself my looking down. The dragon master laughed, her voice filling the room, and the dragon's all settled down on their pedestal over her. Natsu cleared his voice to interrupted her and catch her attention.

"I'm sorry, Dragon Master? But who are you, what are you doing here, what are we doing here, and are we going to die here? Or can we return home?" Natsu asked the questions that were rolling around in his mind.

"_Oh of course, you all are wondering about me aren't you? Of course you would seeing how these eight great beast are listening to me so easily. To them they call me Dragon Master, but you eight can all call me Mavis, and I guess you can consider me your savior's savior?" _Mavis said.

"Wait, what? Our savior's savior?!" Levy squeaked out.

Mavis hummed and nodded, _"yes, it's hard to explain. Actually, maybe it's not. So you all know we live on a planet called Earthland right? Well that planet was originally ruled by dragons, and the humans that lived there, which are us, were all slaves until the moment I was born. I was born with special powers that controlled the dragons and became their Master, hence the name Dragon Master. I wanted to help my people, so I offered the dragon's the idea of instead of making humans their slaves, that instead they should make them their children."_

"Hold on, children? So Grandine is all my Element's Mother?!" Wendy gasped.

Mavis giggled and shook her head, _"No, I didn't mean in a literal way. More as in, to take the humans under their wings. So that is what happened, the dragon's all started separating the humans into groups and started teaching them all their magic. Each dragon had a different magic element, which is why humans evolved into Elements. I hand picked these eight dragons to watch over humanity while the other dragons went to a different realm with me to live to in peace."_

"Hold on, I'm confused. My great, great something Grandfather was there to create the Water Element. We were all living underwater, separated and alone. If you sent the dragons to watch over us, then how come we were all separated? And if we adapted into the Elements that we are, then how come we could live underwater?"

Mavis frowned and turned her head to glare at her friends, _"because some dragons were impatient during the process and wanted most humans to themselves; they started blessing their powers on whoever they could find and reach leaving no humans for any other dragon."_

Kohaku bowed his head and apologized.

"So my people evolved from humans to Water Element and then to Ice Element?" Gray asked.

"_Precisely!" _Mavis said.

"I understand, but at the same time I'm still confused." Natsu said.

"I know what you mean, but basically what you telling us is that you're our real savior? Right?" Doranbolt asked.

"_In other words yes, though these are the dragons that watched over, raised, and took care of you all." _Mavis said.

"Great, one question answered, now for the other four. Why did you suddenly just come up from the floor? Were you that red light from before? And what are we doing here?" Natsu asked.

"_I was the one who summoned you all here. Once each of you broke the barriers I used up my magic to transport you all here, including your saviors. I needed to restore my magic to project myself though, so that's why I was resting right underneath you as the red light." _Mavis said.

"So you summoned us here, not our dragons. Why?" Lucy asked.

"_Because I wanted to show my gratitude to you all for reuniting Earthland again! Plus I was hoping you all could talk some sense into the dragons that needed sense talking into. Grandine, Raijun, Kohaku, Yuki, Cosmos and Metalicana. The six of you started this pointless separation, I hope from the past 1000 years you've learned something from it. Unless all of you can make up and live in harmony, I'm afraid that your heirs will have to stay here until I can find better replacements to protect them."_ Mavis lectured.

"That's not fair Mavis! It's not my fault that Raijun had to go and grow tired of me! I just couldn't stand being with him any longer knowing he didn't love me!" Grandine complained.

"What on Earthland are you talking about Grandine? Growing tired of you, I was head over heels in love with you!"

"You're lying! I came to visit you one evening only to find that you were in Hikari's territory! I heard the two talking about me behind my back! If you didn't love me anymore Raijun you could have just said so! If you didn't want to be together you should have said something! You didn't have to sneak around and lie to me! I was so mad at you, so furious I couldn't stand talking or seeing you so I made that barrier to keep you away from me!" Grandine cried at the end.

Raijun was shocked hearing all of this and jerked his head back, blinking his eyes before he leaned over to wrap his tail gently around Grandine's.

"Grandine... you fool." Raijun said.

Grandine twitched and roared loudly at him, causing Raijin to chuckle.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!" She roared.

"We've been separated for 1000 years all because of a simple misunderstanding. Grandine, I love you. I've loved you since the first time I've laid eyes on you and I've continued to love you throughout the years we've been separate." Raijun grinned.

"You have?" Grandine whispered.

Raijun chuckled as he nodded.

"Then why were you talking about me to Hikari?"

"Well maybe if you were actually listening in closely enough, then you would have known I was asking her advice about having you live with me." Raijin said.

Grandine blinked, "what?"

"I was going to ask if you wanted to fuse our Elements together Grandine, I was going to ask if we could really be together forever."

Grandine started sniffing, tears filling up her eyes as she fly herself into Raijun.

"AW! RAIJUIN! I'M SO, SO, SO SORRY! IT'S ALL MY FAULT, I'M SUCH AN IDIOT! I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! OF COURSE I'LL BE TOGETHER WITH YOU FOREVER!"

Raijun chuckled as he nuzzled his snout against her, "I'm glad to hear."

"Hooray! Happy ending!" Wendy cheered.

Doranbolt chuckled and walked over to where their saviors were cuddling together.

"Excuse me Miss Grandine, I'd like to formally introduce myself as Doranbolt Gryder, heir of Raijun's element, and ask if it would be alright to marry your heir." He bowed.

Grandine giggled and nodded her head several times over, "of course, sure, why not? This way we'll really would have connected our Elements together Raijin." She said not sparing a glance at Doranbolt, but waved her claw at him.

Doranbolt sweat-dropped while Wendy blushed, rushing to Doranbolt's side to hug his back. Doranbolt turned and smile down at Wendy, who smiled back up at him behind her blush.

"He'll make me very happy Grandine, so you won't have to worry about me or our people. They're going to be in good hands." Wendy said.

Grandine finally spared a glance down and smiled, nodding her head, "I have no doubt about that."

"_Well there's two dragons that have made up, now for the other four." _Mavis said turning her head around.

"Kohaku, you were the one who was stealing up humans right? To make them your younger siblings?" Juvia asked walking forward.

"Exactly! Because everyone else was sure to hog all of them! I had to get to them first!" Kohaku said.

"You wanted to be a big brother though right? You wanted to prove that you could be a better one than Yuki?" She continued.

"Right! I could be ten times the brother he ever was to me, nicer, kinder, better!"

"Weren't you trying to be like him though?" Juvia asked.

"Yes!" Kohaku said, then blinked and started stuttering, "no, wait, no! I didn't mean to say yes! I-I!"

Juvia walked closer, smiling lightly up at her savior, "the truth is that you love your big brother don't you? He never took notice to you though, huh? Or appreciated anything you could do? Or even praise you at all for that matter? So you wanted to go and prove to him how special and strong you could really be."

Yuki, astonished, blinked and looked at his little brother. "Kohaku? Is this true?"

"And I was just thinking about letting you back into my Element Juvia, you can forget about that now." Kohaku growled.

"Kohaku? Is this really how you've been feeling?" Yuki asked.

Kohaku glared at his big brother and turned his head, "well it wouldn't be a hundred percent lie!"

"Kohaku... I had no idea. I never meant... Kohaku, you're my younger brother. You know how proud I am of you, you know how much I love and care for you. If you ever thought different, I'm sorry if I made you believe that. Of course I was proud, super proud! Out of all the Elements in the world, you were chosen to be one of the main eight along side me. I was the proudest dragon of them all over you." Yuki tried to explain.

"Yeah, right." Kohaku mumbled, looking the other way.

"It's true Yuki, I couldn't have asked for a better younger brother. I thought you would have realized that, but instead you have to go off and run away from me and ignore me when I tried to reach out. The only reason I started taking some of your elements was because I was trying to get your attention, I was trying to have you talk to me Kohaku."

"Well You didn't have to steal my Elements!" Kohaku yelled.

"Well if you would have talked to me in the first place, then I wouldn't have done any of that! Why in the world were you ignoring me in the first place?!" Yuki yelled.

"You probably weren't showing him enough attention, were you busy Yuki before you became our savior?" Gray asked.

Yuki twitched, "well there was a lot of things to do in order to take care of humanity."

"So you were too busy, and all Kohaku probably wanted was to spend some time with his big brother. It's obvious he has a big brother complex." Gray nodded.

"Obviously." Juvia nodded in agreement.

"I DO NOT!" Kohaku roared.

"Kohaku, I had no idea. I'm flattered, really." Yuki said widening his eyes.

"I DO NOT HAVE A BIG BROTHER COMPLEX!" He roared even loudly.

Juvia started giggling, followed by Yuki laughed out loud as well. Gray joined shortly after and Kohaku, Kohaku couldn't stop the twitch of a smile from coming to his lips before he started laughing as well.

"I'm sorry Kohaku if I ever made you feel less important. You are my only little brother in the world, you know that? You mean so much to me."

Kohaku looked at Yuki out the corner of his eyes, "more than your precious Elements?"

Yuki grinned, "more than my precious Elements."

Kohaku blushed and turned away again, he leaned a little bit closer to where his brother was though and mumbled under his breath.

"I guess... I can forgive you then."

Yuki grinned and reached over, ruffling his brother's head, "that's great! And I swear once we return back to our world I'll shower you with attention and everything! There won't be a single Ice Dragon who doesn't know who my little brother is, although there isn't one anyway since I've been talking about you none stop to them."

Kohaku finally showed a grand smile of his own to his big brother. Juvia jumped up and clapped in success while Gray grinned.

"We get to keep our Saviors." Juvia cheered.

"Thankfully, now that I'm finally able to greet Iceberg there's no way I want him to vanish. Especially after all he's done for my family." Gray cheered as well.

"_And then there was two." _

"Obviously Cosmos has done nothing wrong and proven herself as a great savior. I'm the one who was too cocky, I'm the only one who deserves to return back home." Metalicana said.

"Will you shut up?! Do you thank I want some other power hyped dragon ordering my people around?! Hell no! Why don't you take responsibility for your mistakes and work with me to help our Element? Instead of running away from your problems, again!" Gajeel yelled.

"He's right Metalicana, you can do better this time. I'll be here to help you, everyone will." Cosmos smiled gently.

"I don't need any of you. I'm tired of all this acting as a savior, it's too much and not at all what I thought it was cracked up to be. I am done with all of this nonsense."

"_If that is what you wish for Metalicana, I'm sorry for ever putting such a great burden on you." _Mavis said waving her hands.

"Wait a minute! Hold on! Metalicana, you don't really mean this. You're acting like Gajeel right now, saying one thing to protect him, to protect your people, but you're underestimating them just like how Gajeel underestimated me!" Levy said walking over.

"I'm smart enough to make my own decisions and strong enough to live through them. He had no right taking that choice away from me just like how you have no right taking that choice away from your people!" Levy yelled.

Gajeel clenched his fists and looked the other way. So they weren't all happy, kissy, make up, she still held some lingering hatred for him. Of course she would, Gajeel was going to make sure to make it up to her once they got back.

"I'm not considered a savior in my own Element, Earth Element. It's obvious that they've chosen." Metalicana said.

"Gajeel's here asking you to come back, to help. He's asking you for your help Metalicana, and you owe it to him, and everyone else you abandon to help and dedicate your life to trying to make it up to them! You can quit when you've made it up to everyone who you've abandoned!" Levy argued.

"She's right, you don't have the choice to quit and leave until you make it up to each of your Elements. Unless you're a man who goes back on his commitments and a weakling who runs away from his problem." Gajeel insulted.

Metalicana looked down at the two determined Elements and sighed out, "can't you see that the Shadow Element would be better in someone else's hands?"

"As king over them I think I'll decide what's better for my people." Gajeel said.

"Give in Metalicana, they don't want to see you go just like I don't. We're friends, remember? Or well, at least we used to be." Cosmos smiled sadly, bowing her head down.

Metalicana kept a blank face, "... still friends."

Cosmos looked up slightly.

"Thank you... for helping my people."

A huge grin appeared on Cosmos's face as she leaned back up, her tail wagging behind her as she cheered. "No problem at all! That is what friend's do after all, help each other with whatever they need! No need for thanks at all! I'm just so happy-"

"ENOUGH COSMOS!" Metalicana roared.

"Oops, sorry." Cosmos giggled.

Metalicana glanced over at the dragon master and frowned, "there, you happy? We all made up, we're all good. Now can we each return to our little corners of the world?!"

"_Sure, I'm happy. In order to make sure such a thing doesn't happen again though everyone, I'm going to have to add a new Element that will watch over all of you." _Mavis said.

The dragons all groaned, those who weren't in love and were busy making lovy dovy eyes at each other.

"Fair enough, I rather have a new Element that can prevent such a thing from happening again than staying blocked off." Igneel said.

"Agreed, what Element is it going to be though? Iron? Rock? Psychic? Poison?" Hikari listened.

Mavis giggled and raised her hands up in there air, a rainbow colored energy ball appearing in her hand. The room started spinning, all the pictures of walls fading away, the dragons falling onto the level where their Element's stood all in front of them, everyone staring at Mavis. She lowered the ball into her hands before separating them into eight pieces.

"_Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Doranbolt, Natsu, Lucy, Gajeel, Levy. You eight shall be the new Element, guardians over your saviors and over each other. You eight shall protect that peace that has once again been restored and create a beautiful new world where new Elements can come and everyone can live in peace and harmony. You eight shall be the Elements of the Heart." _Mavis said spreading out her hands.

The eight lights flew to each of the eight Elements, engraving themselves into each and every one of them. Gray's tattoo was lifted and in it's replacement was several spirals around a heart. Juvia was given the same thing on her wrist, as well as the other Elements.

"Cute!" Wendy cheered.

"More like stupid, we couldn't be given a cooler Element name? And who's going to be our dragon this time? A pink, heart shaped one that breaths out rainbows?" Gajeel snorted.

"Really? That would be so adorable!" Wendy cheered.

Doranbolt sighed loudly and shook his head.

"_This Element was created because of the love each of you had for one another. It was what gave me the strength to help you break the barriers, love. Love is what gives me power so I guess you could call me you're dragon, but I'm leaving you eight in charge without my guidance. This will probably be the last time you eight see me, unless problems arrive again. I have no doubt in my mind though that you eight will be able to take care of it with the feelings from your heart so strong."_

The eight Elements all blushed as they looked at their loved ones. Mavis giggled into the palm of her hand before she started levitating up.

"_It is time for me to take my leave. I'm so grateful that I was able to meet you eight, I know I made the right decision now letting humans and dragons live together. The marks I gave each of you is prove of your Element and my strength for whenever you need it. It'll also bring you back here, to be face to face with your saviors and meet back with one another, though the barriers will be all gone now. You all will able to visit in your own lands, remember to keep the peace though._

"_Grandine, Raijin, Igneel, Cosmos, Hikari, Metalicana, Yuki, Kohaku, keep up the good work and try to not get too blinded. I'll see you all very soon back in our realm. Take care everyone, and know I'm all proud of you." _Mavis said before she vanished.

"Wow. Well that's great and everything, she didn't explain how we are going to get back though!" Gajeel yelled.

"Simple you idiot, by using us." Metalicana said.

"Hold on though, I don't want to leave just yet. Grandine, when I return are you going to return with me in your dragon form?" Wendy asked.

Grandine parted from her beloved and shook her head, "No Wendy. What wonderful thing Mavis did was split our world into two realms, one where you Elements ruled and one where us dragon's run free. She has not given us permission yet to be in your world in our real forms, so I'm afraid we'll return back with you all as our savior forms." She explained.

"Hold on, I thought you all were our saviors though? Didn't she assign each of you to protect and watch over us? Why wouldn't she give you your true forms?" Doranbolt asked.

"You were not there when dragons ruled the world my boy. Though Mavis loves us, she loves her people more and wanted to make sure we could do nothing to harm any of you." Igneel said.

"That's unfair though, for you to be stuck as a cloud? How will you be able to meet Raijun?" Wendy nearly cried.

"Oh dear Wendy, is that what you're worrying about? Silly little girl, we'll still be able to meet." Grandine said.

"Really?" Wendy sniffed.

"Our forms in your realm is just like how Mavis's was when she appeared before us, just an appearance. Our real forms are back in our realm where dragons are allowed to roam free. We can connect our consciousness back and forth between the realms, but we truly live with her in her realm. We aren't trapped or anything here, but once Grandine and everyone set up those barriers no other dragons could come visit, including our Master. She must have been so worried about us." Raijun said.

"It's all in the past now, we can all try and make it up to her once we return home." Cosmos smiled.

"Is there any other questions one would like to ask before we start sending you back home?" Yuki asked.

"What exactly did Mavis mean by us becoming new Elements? Is she expecting us to use our powers to make the Elements get along?" Lucy asked.

"More or less, yes. She is expecting you eight to not only bring peace with the Elements in your section, but with all the Elements. You eight are going to be seeing each other for a long, long, long time now, so you better start getting along." Cosmos giggled.

"I don't think we'll have a problem with that! Doranbolt, could we honeymoon in the Earth Land? I always wanted to visit there! That or the Fire Land!" Wendy started bouncing up and down.

Lucy started giggling, "I wouldn't mind a honeymoon in the Sky Land, what do you say Natsu?"

"I always wondered what clouds tasted like, sounds like a plan." Natsu chuckled.

"I just want to know how we're going to get back, in case none of you were seeing I left my people in a horrible state and my brother about to get jumped by my own people." Gajeel said.

"Right, right, just use that seal of yours and you can go back." Metalicana said.

"Seal?" Gajeel said looking at his wrist.

The seal on his arm started glowing. Gajeel reached out his hand for Levy's and held it tight in his own.

"You ready?" He asked.

Levy looked over and nodded, "though I do have more questions, I'm starting to worry about Rogue as well. Besides, it's not like we won't be able to meet again. Good bye Cosmos, I'll see you soon." Levy smiled and waved at her savior.

"Good bye McGarden, I'll see you as well." Cosmos smiled.

"It was nice to meet you Metalicana, along with everybody else! I look forward to visiting you in the future!" Levy grinned waving.

Her mark started glowing as well, the two Element's glowing together along with their dragons. All of a sudden they vanished, leaving everyone else there.

"It's about time we return home as well Wendy, with the barrier gone our Elements are sure to be in a state of frenzy." Doranbolt said.

"Yeah, plus I just left Happy, Charlie, and Pantherlily alone with your cousin. It was nice meeting you everyone as well, see you all soon! Bye Grandine, Raijun! I love you both very much, I'll be sure to visit once everything is in order again." Wendy smiled.

"Good bye my little Wendy, I'll see you shortly." Grandine smiled.

"Bye Grandine, Raijun. I'll be sure to start getting my act together." Doranbolt nodded.

"You better, because if you don't Grandine is going to kill me." Raijuin chuckled.

They were the next to disappear, followed by the Water and Ice Elements.

"Come on Gray, we should be getting home." Juvia smiled.

"Right, Natsu was it? If I remember correctly our lands are complete opposites right? Doesn't mean we can't get along though. I look forward in visiting you." Gray said.

Natsu grinned, "likewise! Safe trip you two."

"Thanks, good bye everyone. Kohaku, try to remember you're a big dragon okay? Enough temper tantrums and I'll be sure to give you treats next time I visit." Juvia said.

"Really?! I mean, ke-kem, of course. And by the way, you don't have to leave the waters. I, um, unbanish you." Kohaku said looking down, blushing lightly.

Juvia giggled, "thank you Kohaku. Good bye."

"I'll see you soon Iceberg." Gray chuckled.

"Right back at you Fullbuster." Yuki said disappearing.

"I guess this just leaves us." Hikari smiled at Igneel.

"Yup, ready whenever you are children." Igneel smiled.

"Hold on, I want to enjoy this for a little bit longer." Natsu whispered, cupping Lucy's cheek.

"Lucy, you really are so beautiful... I think I prefer your light self though." Natsu winked.

"Oh Natsu," Lucy giggled with a light blush, "is there no way that Natsu will be able to see me? Or me him?" She asked turning to her dragons.

"There may be nothing that we can do Lucy as your saviors." Hikari said.

"But maybe there's something you two can do, thanks to your new powers with Mavis. Try and break the barrier in your worlds once again, and maybe you'll be able to show your true forms." Igneel finished off.

"Got it! If it works you got to thank Mavis for me again, alright Igneel?" Natsu smiled.

"Alright boy." Igneel smiled.

"Well Lucy, ready to meet my family?" Natsu asked looking at her.

Lucy blinked, taking in everything about Natsu. His features, his hair, his eyes, his smile. This wasn't going to be the last time she saw it.

"Yes, bye Hikari, Igneel."

The remaining Elements left, and then the room became empty and locked up... waiting for the Elements to all return once more.


	37. Shadow And Earth

**BlackLynx17: Hey everybody! Five more chapters left, I believe! To tell you all the truth I made a mistake last chapter! I called Mavis the Dragon Master even though I already put Mavis as Laxus's Grandmother, oops, so imagine a different Mavis for me okay? Okay. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 37

Shadow And Earth

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"Whoa!" Levy screamed stumbling on her feet.

Gajeel quickly reached out and caught her, pulling her against his chest right when she was about to fall. She sighed up in relief and looked up at Gajeel, a huge smile plastered on her face. Gajeel looked down back at her and smiled as well.

"Well I don't mean to interrupt the moment, but I don't think this is the safest place to be making kissy faces at each other at the moment." Ryos's voice interrupted.

The two blinked and looked over, seeing Ryos tilt his head and wave right at them.

"Ryos?!" They both called at the same time.

"How many times must I tell you, call me oof-!" Ryos grunted when Levy and Gajeel both engulfed him into a hug.

It's felt like its been hours since they've last seen him, but for Ryos not a single second had passed. His brother and friend were kissing at one second and the next they were in each others arms.

"Ow, guys, a little too rough." Ryos said, a blush creeping up on his face.

"Ryos, I'm so happy that you were able to regain your memories. Just at the right time too, if you didn't come here with me I don't know what would have happened." Levy said, pulling away slightly.

"I owe you the same gratitude for taking care of me when I was a blank slate. You really helped me out Levy, thank you." Ryos bowed.

"Hey, hey, hey! Enough with the gratitude and flirting, she's my girl! Get it!" Gajeel growled pulling Levy into him.

"Gajeel!" Levy blushed.

Ryos chuckled, "of course brother. You have much to make up for though now that I've regained my memories."

"I do, but like you were saying this is not the place. Come on." Gajeel said grabbing both of their hands.

"Where are we going?" Levy asked.

"To the barrier, I need to have a talk with your queen and we need to find Jellal; I sent him there earlier looking for you Ryos." Gajeel explained.

"Jellal?! What is he doing here?" Ryos gasped.

"I unbanished him."

"You unbanished him?!"

"Yeah, turns out I got pretty lonely without you and Jellal really... he really was doing his best with our Element. Love made him weak though," Gajeel said then cleared his voice as he squeezed her hand, "er, well, his love didn't give him the strength he needed for success. I have that power now though to succeed for all of us." Gajeel said.

Levy smiled, but that smile slowly fell when she thought about it, "wait a minute Gajeel. Don't tell me you are going to use our new powers to break the barrier?"

Gajeel didn't say anything and Levy didn't know what to think. Their barrier was still in place, keeping the Shadows in. In order for Gajeel to come across and live with her, they would need to break the barrier since getting Erza's permission would be impossible, but what about everybody else? What was going to happen to her people if the Shadows broke free? There was nothing Levy could do to stop Gajeel from breaking the barrier, and she doesn't think she'd be able to create another one after knowing what she knew now about the Shadow.

"What the hell?" Gajeel asked when he started seeing the barrier up ahead.

Right across from it there was an army of Earth Elements standing there, ready to march at any second. Before Gajeel could walk over to see what that was all about, shadows grabbed him and his friends and pulled them all behind a junk pile.

"What the hell?!" Gajeel roared.

"Calm down, it's just me Gajeel." Jellal said making himself known.

"Jellal?" Ryos asked getting a good look at him.

"Rogue... oh my goodness, Rogue! How much you've grown, you look exactly like your brother." Jellal grinned.

"That's not a compliment." Rogue grinned back and Jellal laughed as he pulled him in for a hug.

Levy awed while Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Alright, enough of this, what the hell is that army doing outside our walls?!" Gajeel asked.

"The Queen, she's looking for her younger sister. I suspect that is you." Jellal said looking at the Earth Element.

"Oh Erza." Levy sighed covering her face.

"She's demanded to speak with the King to get her sister back or she threatens to burn down our whole Element. And she's not kidding Gajeel, I know her." Jellal shivered.

"It's alright, just let me go talk to her. I'll have this all straightened out in a minute." Levy said getting up.

"Right, sounds like a plan." Gajeel said following after her.

The three of them started walking over to the barrier again, Jellal stayed at his little hiding spot though.

"Jellal? Aren't you coming?" Ryos asked when he noticed him there.

"I can't. It's been years since we've last seen each other and... I don't want to bring up any bad memories. She's probably moved on and gotten new memories, no need to bring up old wounds." Jellal sighed.

"You know, Erza's always been a lonely queen, princess even. I remember there was this one time in her life she was super happy, until something happened that made her depressed. All these years though she's been alone and I think it was because she still loved you. Because she was still waiting for you." Levy said.

Jellal said nothing as he looked away.

"I can understand if you were trying to protect her, Gajeel thought the same thing as well, and I forgave him. I probably think Erza is more mad at you than depressed, because you didn't trust her enough to make her own decision."

"Levy, come on. I don't want to start a war." Gajeel said.

"Um, okay. Just think about what I said, because if it were me... I'd want to see Gajeel no matter how many years had passed."

Levy quickly caught up with Gajeel and Ryos and even ran passed them, over to the barrier where scarlet hair was flapping in the wind as she gave out orders to her men.

"ERZA!" Levy screamed.

The scarlet queen flinched and turned around, complete relief flooding her face when she saw her little book worm.

"LEVY!" She called back running over to the barrier.

Levy ran right past the barrier, her heart being as pure as light, and hugged her dear sister. Few tears were shed, mostly from Erza as she squeezed Levy tighter and tighter.

"I was scared, I was so scared that something might have happened to you in there." She whispered.

"Erza-"

"Why on Earthland did you run off like that?! Why did you run away there of all places?! What were you thinking Levy?!" Erza yelled shaking her.

"Erza, Erza, hold on Erza." Levy gasped.

Gajeel chucked and grabbed a hold of Ryos's shirt collar. Ryos looked over with an eyebrow raised then started yelling as Gajeel flung him over to the other side.

"What the hell Gajeel?!" Ryos yelled, breaking up the touchy reunion.

"I still stand by my decision Ryos, in order to keep you save you need to stay with the Earth Elements." Gajeel said.

"You're my brother though Gajeel! I'm not leaving you alone!" Ryos said as he crossed right back over.

Gajeel growled and threw him right back over. This time when Ryos tried to cross again, the Earth Knights stopped him and held him at knife point. Gajeel froze, as well as Ryos.

"Enough! Now what is this about being the Shadow King's brother?! How could I have allowed you to enter my kingdom!" Erza yelled.

"Erza, it isn't like that. Ryos isn't-"

"Be quiet Levy, he's the one who kidnapped you isn't he?! I don't know how you were able to cross, but you are going to regret kidnapping my sister and holding her hostage." Erza said, her eyes glinting red as she pulled out her sword.

"NO ERZA! DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Levy yelled standing in front of her.

Erza hesitated at the determined look inside of her eyes.

"Levy." She said.

Levy glared at her before running towards Ryos, shooing the guards off of him.

"Ryos, are you okay?" She asked helping him.

"Just fine, I've gone through worse." Ryos said dusting himself off.

"Ryos? Don't tell me this is the Element you have fallen in love with. Did you know all along he was a Shadow Element?! Let alone the brother to the King?!" Erza yelled.

"WHAT?!" Gajeel yelled, completely shocked to hear this news.

"No Erza, you're wrong. I love Ryos, but I love him as a brother. I'm actually in love with the King of Shadows, Gajeel Redfox." Levy blushed looking over.

Gajeel shut up and blushed, scratching the back of his head. Erza dropped her weapon in shock then turned over, spotting said Shadow Element. Her eyes looked like flames as she walked over towards him.

"What mind games did you play on my sister?! What have you done to her?!" Erza screamed.

Her guards all held her back, not wanting their queen to cross the barrier, but she kept trying to come over.

"It is no games or trickery Queen Erza Scarlet of the Earth Elements, she has fallen for me, and I her. I'm in love with you sister." Gajeel told her.

Erza frown while Levy smiled, covering her face to hide her blush.

"But I do not deserve her as a Element and definitely as a man. You see in the beginning when I first met her all I was planning was using her in order to help my people, to get rid of this cursed barrier. I planned on making her want to join me then use her as a hostage so you'll break this thing down." Gajeel explained.

Erza reached for her knight's sword, getting ready to strike.

"But I found myself falling in love with her. I never hoped or even dreamed she could feel the same way in return, but she did." Gajeel smiled.

Erza paused while Ryos chuckled lightly to himself.

"But what could I give her? There's no way we could have been together, I would have not allowed her to come live with me here and there was no way I was going to abandon my people and be saved with her."

Erza flinched, remembering something from her past.

"A lot has happened in this past year, and I've grown up and learned a lot. I've realized that this barrier isn't a cage, but a means of saving and helping. What your Element is doing for mine is a wondrous thing, and I greatly appreciate it. It's about time I start helping you as well though. Levy, I can't be with you knowing that my people are suffering. This is the decision I have come to. I'm going to stay king here and work my ass off to get all my people saved, to turn them into citizens I can be proud to call my Element and my family. Until every last Element of mine is saved, I am not going to leave any of them before. So I'm sorry Levy, but I want you to stay safe over there with my brother." Gajeel said then directed himself over to the queen.

"I beg you Queen Erza, welcome my people in who deserved it and help me guide them to the right path. I beg that you welcome my brother in your Element and give him a safe haven. In return I will do my best to reunite our two Elements into one great one everyone can be proud to be apart of." Gajeel bowed.

Erza... she was at a lost for words. She didn't notice when Levy ran right past her onto the other side and threw her self at Gajeel, knocking them both over as she squeezed him with everything she had.

"I thought I told you to stop making decisions for me! I am a grown woman and I can make them on my own, thank you very much! If you think for one second that I'm going to be apart from you, you can think again. I love you Gajeel, we're going to be together for the rest of our lives." Levy said.

"But Levy-"

"No butts! Shut up! This is my decision and I've decided to spend the rest of my life by your side. I want to be here Gajeel to help you with your dreams. My dreams are your dreams." Levy smiled.

Gajeel simply sighed out loudly and leaned over to kiss her gently.

"Yes, Princess."

Levy smirked, "more like Queen now that I'm together with the Shadow King."

Gajeel started laughing and Levy quickly joined him. Erza watched this in the background, her men all confused as they stood there and watched.

"Levy... this is what you have chosen?" Erza asked.

Levy turned around and nodded, a grand smile on her face, "Yes Erza. I love him, I love this Element, this is my choice and I love it. I'm happy here."

Erza nodded and took a deep breath, turning around. She started heading over to Ryos and stared down at him, a stone cold face on.

"You... you were that Shadow Element that proposed that plan about my people teaching your people, correct?"

Ryos nodded, "yes your highness. Ryos Redfox, at your service."

"Then we have much to discuss about getting that plan into action. I look forward to working with you and getting this plan started immediately." Erza said.

Levy gasped as she jumped up, "Really Erza?!"

"You've made your decision and I respect that. If you are to live and marry that man over there, I want to make sure it's at a respectable place. You have yourself a treaty Shadow King, I'll want my sister back until I gather enough men to send over to help you protect her though." Erza said.

"I completely agree." Gajeel nodded.

"Gajeel-"

"You've won Levy, you're living here with me and helping me with our dream. At least do this for me, it's not like I'm going anywhere. A few days are nothing compared to a life time." Gajeel said.

Levy frowned, but nodded her head and huffed. "Fine."

"It won't be for long Levy, just for a few days. I'll want to have a couple of days of you for myself, but our people will want to say goodbye too." Erza said.

"Erza, it's not like I won't visit! You won't miss me at all!" Levy said.

"Liar, I'm already missing you." Erza started crying.

"Oh Erza!" Levy started crying next running over.

They met between the barrier and hugged each other tight, crying into each other arms. Ryos walked over to the barrier, Gajeel the same as they stood across from each other.

"This is only temporary, I'll be returning home after everything's settled." Ryos said.

Gajeel sighed, "Fine, but if you turn into an evil shadow master again I'm kicking your ass over the barrier, literally."

"Bite me Gajeel."

"Don't make me-..." Gajeel paused at his insult and looked over.

"Make you wa-" Rogue started, but paused as well when he saw who was coming over.

Jellal spotted Erza crying her with sister and it made his heart go asunder. He gulped and stopped in his path, but quickly shook it off. After hearing Gajeel's speech and Levy's confession, there was no way he could just keep hiding. He needed... he wanted to see her. See her and apologize, say something, even if she would ignore him. Levy saw him walking over and took a step back from Erza, leaving her confused. She smiled lightly and pointed behind her, making Erza look.

She saw a man walking over, a tall man, older. He was lighter than the usual Shadow Element, bright blue hair, but darker than Levy's, with a tattoo on the side of his eye. Erza knew this man, she recognized him. He wasn't looking at her, but on the floor, every once in a while though he'd look up and make eye contact.

Levy quietly started shooing the army of Earth Elements off while Gajeel waved bye to his brother as he walked off. When some solders still lingered, Ryos helped Levy by using his powers of the shadows and started making them march. Levy giggled and looked back at Erza, wishing her good luck as she started walking off. Jellal and Erza were left all alone pretty soon, standing in front of each other between the barrier.

"Hello Miss Scarlet or is it Queen Scarlet now?" Jellal decided to open with a tease. He would always call her by her last name, the color of her hair.

Erza stared at him hard, "I don't want any jokes Jellal. I want the truth."

Jellal looked away.

"I was ready to give up everything for you, risk my whole Element for you, I was going to do anything for you! We were going to be happy! So why did you change your mind?! Why did you make me love you until the last second and then break my heart?!"

Jellal squeezed his hands into fists and exhaled loudly through his nose, "I was going to give it all up for you. I was going to choose you Erza."

"Then why didn't you!?"

"I was heading over, I was walking over to meet you. On my way though... I started noticing all the bad things about my Elements. I didn't see not one happy face while I was walking Erza, I even saw some of them on the brink of death and these two boys... brothers... huddled up under a box to keep warm. I realized what I was about to do. I was their king and I was about to go live my life happily while everyone else here starved and fought to survive. At that moment... I couldn't abandon my people. I didn't want to."

"So why didn't you tell me any of that?! Why did you lie and say you didn't love me anymore?!"

Jellal finally look at Erza's face, noticing the tears of hers falling.

"Because I wanted what was best for you. You were going to become queen, you had such a bright future ahead of you. How could I have asked you to wait?"

"Easily! You must have known I would have waited! All you had to do was ask Jellal and I would have been yours, I would have even helped you!"

"But look! It's been five years and yet I've accomplished nothing! Nothing!"

"And I've been alone everyday believing that you didn't love me! That you were off with another women, starting a family of your own while I suffered!"

Jellal quickly shut his mouth while Erza wiped her tears away. "I wouldn't have cared about the time, I still don't care. All I needed to know was that you loved me, that would have been enough to keep me going."

"Well you don't have to suffer any longer. There hasn't been a single other after I left you, my heart wasn't truly mine to give away so freely." Jellal mumbled lightly.

"Jellal, I still love you." Erza whispered.

Jellal flinched and froze, starting down at her lips as he refused to look in her eyes.

"After all this time, all those years hating you, I still love you. I still feel like that young princess that stumbled across you in that flower garden. My heart still yearns for you." She whimpered.

"You're Queen."

"I know exactly what I am and no one can tell me what I can and cannot do. Jellal, please, be honest with me. What is you choice?"

Was... was it okay for him to be happy? For him to get his happy ending? He had nothing to offer her. No country, no title, no safe place to call home. He still wasn't going to abandon his people, he was going to stay right by Gajeel's side until their people were rescued. She didn't care about any of that though, she never cared. All she needed to know was that she was loved.

"JUST KISS HER YOU FOOL!" Gajeel yelled from the shadows.

Jellal turned around and glared into the darkness, "I DON'T NEED YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU IDIOT!"

"THEN DO IT!"

"I WILL! JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE!"

"YOU'RE LOSING HER JELLAL! YOU LOSER!"

Jellal was about to say a complaint back, but a hand reached over and turned his head. He stared at Erza crossing the barrier before their lips met for the first time. He came back to life after that, returning to the once great king he was when he loved her. Erza felt like singing, flying, all of the above, and gave her all to him.

"ABOUT TIME!"

Jellal parted and turned around, "WILL YOU SHUT UP AND GO ALREADY!"

Erza giggled and leaned her head down against his chest, blushing lightly. Jellal sighed and turned back around, finally running his fingers through that long scarlet hair he's long for.

"Sorry."

"It's alright."

"I raised a damn fool, that's what I did. What were we talking about though?"

Erza looked up with a smile, "I think we were right on the part of you saying I love you."

"Right, of course. I love you Erza Scarlet, would you do me the honors of marrying this old king and making him the happiest Element on Earthland?"

"I was ready to marry you years ago, you idiot. But yes, of course I will."

Jellal smiled and kissed her again, gently pulling her closer. Gajeel gagged seeing the kiss and turned around, ready to continue his Kingly duties without his partner with him. Levy giggled from behind the bushes while Ryos sighed, helping Levy up.

"Gajeel needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." He shook his head.

"I think it was sweet, it was obvious Jellal needed a little push." Levy giggled.

"I guess he did. You know, I'm looking forward to the future of our two Elements." Ryos said.

"Why wouldn't you? It's going to be amazing! Especially when the other Elements start visiting!" Levy cheered.

Ryos raised his eyebrows, "other Elements? What are you talking about?"

Levy grinned as she turned around, "a surprise. We're going to want our Elements at their best though for this surprise, so let's work hard Ryos."

Ryos was still confused, but he shook his head and forgot about it. When the time came he would know, until then though he had other things he had to do.

"Of course Levy, for a bright future for all Elements."


	38. Fire And Light

**BlackLynx17: Hey everybody! It's hot! Super hot! I'm like melting right now! I could not live in the Fire Element!**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

* * *

Chapter 38

Fire And Light

* * *

Lucy opened her eyes gently and spotted her savior all around her, illuminating her entire being. She was in the form of her Light Pillar, but if Lucy looked close enough she could make out Hikari's smiling face at her.

"Lucy?"

Lucy smiled as she turned around, "Natsu!"

He was there right behind her, but as a fireball. Lucy didn't seem to care at all as she giggled and threw her arms around her; Natsu started chuckling as well feeling himself being engulfed in a warm light. They didn't need to stay in this form though, Hikari's words hand in Lucy's ears and she pulled back.

"Hold on a second." Lucy said touching her wrist.

She started tracing the tattoo of the Heart Element on her wrist, feeling a small surge of power coarse through her. She felt Hikari's voice tickling her ears, whispering her the instructions on how to make Natsu a light being so she could see and touch him. A bright pulse ran across the land, shaking everything it passed and making it all take shape. Natsu blinked as he looked around him, suddenly seeing buildings and people, animals, trees, all sorts of things, but most of all important, Lucy.

He reached his hand out for her cheek and cupped it, stroking it with his thumb. Lucy looked up and saw Natsu, really saw him this time with a body and everything.

"Hey there." She winked.

Natsu chuckled and leaned over, pressing their lips together. Lucy giggled into the kiss and nibbled at his bottom lip, deepening the kiss between them as she pulled him closer.

"Not that I mind kissing you in the middle of a weird place, but I have a worrying father at home wondering how things are going. Would you mind if we continued over there?"

Lucy laughed, "not at all. I have nothing keeping me here anymore."

"Don't worry Lucy, just like Hikari was saying once we come back from visiting we can completely take control of your Element with our flaming fists!" Natsu laughed.

Lucy shook her head and shoved him lightly, tugging at his hand, "sounds like a plan Natsu! Come on!"

* * *

Natsu's father sighed as he sat in front of the Inferno, praying over it for his son's success and safety. Unknowing to him, Natsu was sneaking up the mountain with Lucy right by his side, pressing a finger against his mouth telling Lucy to keep quiet. He tip toed right behind Kai and got ready to yell and scare the living daylights out of him.

"It's nice to see you back Natsu, I take it everything went well?"

Natsu blew out a raspberry and walked in front of his father, "how'd you know?!"

"I'm your father, I know everything. So how did it go?"

Natsu grinned as he knelt down, "why don't you see for yourself? Lucy, come on over."

Lucy gulped as she made herself known. Kai hummed and turned around, blinking. He saw a bright light floating in the middle of nowhere and chuckled. So this was the Light Element that had captured his son's heart.

"Nice to meet you Lucy, you look very beautiful, way too good looking for my son." He chuckled holding out a hand.

"Natsu, that's enough. Hurry up and make me known before I do." Lucy frowned.

"Hahahah! I just wanted to see what his reaction would be. One second pops." Natsu said using his powers.

Kai blinked and suddenly saw this beautiful young lady in front of him, smiling shyly with a blush on her face.

"Wow... I really wasn't lying before, you are beautiful. Are you sure you're with my son?" Kai asked.

"Hehehe, I know right! Hey! Wait a minute!" Natsu yelled at him.

Lucy giggled and grabbed his hand, shaking it tightly. "Nice to meet you Kai, I'm Lucy Heartfilia, your son's future wife."

Kai's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Natsu started chuckled as he walked over, wrapping an arm around his future wife's waist.

"Now that was the reaction I was looking for, we should have opened with that in the beginning." He told Lucy.

"You, you, married?!" Kai asked in shock.

Lucy's smile slightly dropped while Natsu blinked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

Tears filled Kai's eyes, "never in my life did I think the day would come where my son gets married, let alone a girlfriend! Oh great savior Inferno! Thank you! Thank you!" Kai started worshiping.

"DAD!" Natsu yelled.

Lucy's laughter became too much, she started holding the side of her hips to contain it. After enough teasing, Kai walked back over and engulfed Lucy into a giant hug.

"Welcome to the family daughter, come. We have to introduce you to the rest of our village and have a huge feast! Tonight! We party!" Kai cheered.

"WHOOO! HOORAY!" Natsu cheered running past them.

Kai chuckled and offered Lucy his hand as he helped her down the mountain.

"Are you sure you're making the right choice love?" Kai asked, "forever is a very long time."

"I think you should be asking your son that question, I honestly can't see why he picked me. All I've complained about to him was about my family, my faults, everything that's wrong with me since I believed... I thought I'd never see him. It's real easy to tell the truth to someone when you're not face to face, but now that we are... I just still can't believe he loves me." Lucy blushed, covering her mouth with her hand.

"If you would have been here when Natsu was trying to find a way to you, you wouldn't be feeling that. You should have seen him Lucy, I've never seen Natsu so passionate about something before. Don't doubt about what you have is real or not, I was just warning you that my son does have a one track mind and is a little... dumb to put frank." Kai shrugged.

Lucy giggled and looked over at Natsu, "well I think those are things that set him apart from the rest. I'm looking forward of being your daughter in the future, father." Lucy grinned.

Kai started shedding tears as he pulled Lucy in for another hug, "trust me dear. The pleasures going to be all mine.


	39. Lightning and Sky

**BlackLynx17: MENDY WAS IN THE NEWEST CHAPTER OF FAIRY TAIL! OMG AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so happy right now.**

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**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 39

Lightning and Sky

* * *

Wendy was standing up on her own, fluffy black clouds keeping her up. An arm wrapped around her, and soon another before she was enveloped into a hug, a warm chest keeping her close. Wendy hummed and rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart.

"Are we back?" She whispered.

"Yup, we're home. Hey Laxus, hope we didn't keep you waiting long." Doranbolt grinned looking up.

Laxus crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him weirdly, "keep me waiting?"

There was no waiting at all, they were hugging always and Laxus was simply looking the other way to give them their privacy. Wendy parted from Doranbolt and fixed herself up, looking over at Doranbolt's cousin and previous King, and her once fiance. She gulped and bowed her head down low to him.

"Greetings, I'm Princes- Queen Wendy Marvell of the Sky Elements." She blushed in embarrassment.

"So this is her, huh?... Hmm, seems you did me a favor by becoming King. There's no way I could have married such a plain girl like her." Laxus mumbled.

Wendy sunk, plain?

"Hey, that's my wife you are talking about there." Doranbolt glared.

"I was only teasing, welcome to the family. You know your Mother is going to chew you out then eat her up alive, right?"

"Oh my Raijun you are right... maybe I'll retreat to the Sky Land and live there in peace. I'll give you back kingship of course."

"Be a man Doranbolt and get it over with."

"Be a man? Why don't you get a girlfriend and introduce your Mother to her?"

Laxus made a face.

"Exactly."

"Um, I don't think now's the time to be discussing this when we have nothing keeping our Elements apart anymore." Charlie said.

Suddenly all eyes were drawn to her and Charlie simply shrugged as she flew in the air.

"Just saying."

"Oh my Grandine! I need to go!" Wendy said sprouting her wings.

She started flying off, her Exceed friends following after her. Doranbolt stood there and Laxus walked up, touching his shoulder.

"Aren't we going to go after her?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm trying to get over the shock of her flash me once again. The memories of our first meeting are dancing around in my head, ah how nothings change." Doranbolt smiled.

Laxus snorted and chuckled, smacking the top of his head before zapping off. Doranbolt laughed as he teleported off with him, meeting up with Wendy and zapping next to her until the two of them met at the barrier. It was just like how Charlie described. On one side, above them, were the Sky Elements flying there with Porlyusica in the lead. Where Wendy, Doranbolt, and friends were trying to get across were Lightning Elements, more coming over to see what the crowd was about. Wendy squeezed her way through and flew to her mother, engulfing her into a hug.

"Mother!" She cheered.

"Wendy, I take it everything's gone well?" Porlyusica asked.

Wendy pulled away and nodded, "Yup. We're going to get married." She smiled.

"And you love him?"

"Of course."

"Then I'm happy for you my dear." Porlyusica patted her head.

"What are we going to do about this Doranbolt?" Laxus asked motioning to their people.

"I'm not sure, we might have to lock them up at home and hold an Element meeting or something. I don't want any of them started trouble for her people." Doranbolt said looking them over.

"Wendy, don't you think it'll be wise to take control of the situation?" Pantherlily asked.

"Right! Time to do your first order as Queen Wendy!" Happy cheered.

Wendy pulled away from Porlyusica and nodded at her friends, "thanks for the reminder." She said before flying to the middle between the Elements. Laxus patted Doranbolt and he looked over, seeing Wendy flying over them with her underwear showing. He quickly reached for a cloud and pressed it towards her dress.

"I thought that being married meant only flashing me, not my entire Element." Doranbolt told her.

Wendy blushed in embarrassment and looked down at her dress, sitting more on the cloud.

"Thank you."

Doranbolt smiled, then started tugging at her cheeks. "If you don't start being careful about that, I'm going to have to punish you and kill all men who see."

Wendy quickly crossed her legs and Doranbolt chuckled, trying to float down back to his cousin's side to discuss what to do about their elements. Wendy grabbed his shirt though and kept him there.

"PEOPLE OF THE SKY ELEMENT! AND PEOPLE OF THE LIGHTNING ELEMENT, PLEASE LISTEN!" Wendy called out.

Doranbolt flinched and dug a finger in his ear.

"Hello everyone, my name is Wendy for those of you who don't know, and I'm Queen of the Sky Elements. This man right here, standing beside me, is King of the Lightening Elements and my future husband Doranbolt Gryder." Wendy smiled looking at him.

There were gasps and murmurs between both sides; Doranbolt grinned and gently pressed his lips against her cheek. Wendy giggled and pushed him away.

"Um, I not sure where we're going to live after we get married, but I hope everyone will get along just fine! That is all!" Wendy announced.

And that was all she needed to say. Slowly, one by one, the Sky Elements started descending over to the Lightning side and meet with them one by one. Doranbolt and Laxus watched in amazement how easy the two Elements got along, how friendly the Sky Elements were being.

"How is this happening so easily? I was expecting some negativity, a few problems until we get here." Doranbolt gasped.

Wendy giggled.

"Wendy's been working really hard; for the past year she's been teaching our element all about your element. Everything you've taught her she's taught them in preparation for this day." Porylusica explained.

"Really?" Doranbolt asked looking at her.

"I wanted to make sure everything would go smoothly the day we were reunited, so you'd have nothing to worry about." Wendy told her.

Doranbolt stared at her, a half smile on his face before he pulled Wendy close to him, crushing their lips together.

"I love you Wendy!" Doranbolt grinned before addressing his people. "CITIZENS OF LIGHTENING! I'LL LIKE YOU ALL TO MEET YOUR NEW QUEEN!" He cheered spinning her around.

There was a round of applause for the two rulers, Wendy waving with a starstruck look in her eyes while Doranbolt crushed her even closer.

"What do you say about combinding our clouds together, huh? I'm sure Grandine and Raijun would love the idea, and when the other Elements start visiting it'll be easier access." Doranbolt suggested.

"I say that sounds like a wonderful idea. I love you too Doranbolt." Wendy sighed blissfully.


	40. Water And Ice

**BlackLynx17: So I always planned on doing this in the beginning chapters, but just didn't know when I could put this scene in between the two dad's. This was always going to be their background story and I was going to have Juvia and Gray do it, but I ended up making them not know about their past. Hope you enjoy, one more chapter after this.**

**By the way the reason this is late is because I went to the anime expo and yeah... it was great everybody.**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 40

Water And Ice

* * *

When Juvia and Gray opened their eyes, they saw each other. Gray blinked again, before sighing out and cupping Juvia's face. Juvia blushed at this and smiled shyly, leaning over closer to him. Gray slipped his eyes closed and leaned over as well.

"Ke-kem."

The two heir's froze and turned their heads, seeing their father's right beside them. Gray''s dad was smirking with an eyebrow raised while Juvia's father was fuming as he bit his bottom lip.

"Looks like we're home." Gray sighed getting up.

"Seems like it," Juvia giggled allowing Gray to help her up.

He cleared his voice and rubbed the back of his head while Juvia leaned into him and started tugging him over to their parents. Gray Sr. looked down and Gray cleared his voice, grabbing Juvia's hand.

"Father, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Juvia Lockster. Juvia, this is my Father Gray Fullbuster. All first born sons are called Gray." Gray whispered the last part.

"Why wouldn't they be? Hello Father! It's nice to meet you!" Juvia cheered hugging Gray Sr..

Gray Senior's eyes widened as Gray chuckled, Ryujin sighing and shaking his head.

"It's, it's nice to meet you too little one. She's a keeper son." Gray Sr. whispered holding a thumbs up.

Juvia giggled and pulled away, walking over to her father. She grabbed his hand and hugged his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Well Gray, Father Gray, this is my Daddy Ryujin. Ryujin, this is my boyfriend Gray Fullbuster and his father Gray Fullbuster."

"Pleased to meet you Fullbuster, I'm going to be killing your son in the near future." Ryujin said holding out his hand.

Gray paled while his father started laughing out loud, "I'll be looking forward to that. The pleasure is all mine Ryujin."

Gray Sr. tried to pull his hand back, but Ryujin held onto it tight. He raised his eyebrow at this while Ryujin... his eyes went wide as he stared right back at him.

"You're last name is Fullbuster?" He asked.

Gray Sr. narrowed his eyebrows as he nodded once. Ryujin took a step back and knelt on the ground, dropping his head until it was touching the very ground.

"Daddy?" Juvia whispered.

Gray took a step back while Gray Sr. stood up tall and strong looking down at him.

"Our family has been waiting ages to meet a Fullbuster, ages. You may not know what I'm talking about, but your ancestors were once apart of the Water Element and helped find it. My ancestors did something horrible to your family, and have been waiting all this time to apologize for it. On behave of the Lockster family, you have my deepest apologizes."

Juvia's eyes widened as she realized when her father was apologizing for and quickly knelt down on the floor as well to show her apologizes as well.

"We're sorry." She apologized.

"Juvia, Mr. Lockster." Gray said raising his hand.

"Gray, stop." Gray Sr. said before walking ahead of him.

He stood in front of Ryujin and knelt down on one knee, holding out a hand.

"Apology accepted, now come on off the ground brother. My ancestors have been waiting a long time as well to welcome you home and show you around your second home." Gray Sr. said.

Ryujin looked up, a stray tear in his eye as he quickly wiped it off and grabbed the hand securely. Gray helped Juvia up as well, holding her in his arms as they watched their father's hug each other.

"What's happening right now?" Gray asked.

"I'll explain it to you another time, we have better things to worry about. Like our wedding for instance!" Juvia cheered.

Ryujin fell over and looked back up, "Whe-we-WEDDING?!" He screamed.

"Wedding! Joyous, you're mother is going to be so happy Gray. She was started to worry about you, always alone and junk. We're going to give her such the heart attack when we introduce her to Juvia. You are going to have the wedding here, right? It'll be so beautiful, I can image the alter now." Gray Sr. laughed.

"Why of course Father! I'd imagine it'll be pretty hard for your people to maneuver in our country, which reminds me. I wonder if our new Element powers could help with that?" Juvia wondering looking at her mark.

"Better yet, I wonder if they can help me get rid of all this ice? Should we give it a try?" Gray grinned at her.

Juvia giggled and nodded her head, "ooh! That's a good one too."

"What are you two talking about?" Ryujin asked.

"Nothing improper! It's just, let's start heading home." Gray stiffed.

Juvia giggled while Ryujin glared at him.

"Yes, I want to see the beautiful Ice Element. I trust you have many embarrassing pictures of Gray when he was younger, yes Father?" Juvia asked walking beside him.

"Do I?! He is our only son, so my wife wanted to keep every little detail about him."

"FATHER! DON'T YOU DARE!" Gray yelled running after.

Ryujin rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, before a small smile tugged on his lips as he followed after them.


	41. Heart

**BlackLynx17: I thought it was only fair to end the story with Juvia and Gray since I originally started with Juvia and Gray. This was only going to be a story about the two of them, living separate lives, but being able to find each other and try and discover a way to meet. It wasn't about Elements, but when I started writing the first chapter I thought of his element, ice, and hers, water, and started discovering the backstory. I thought, well if those two are separated, they can't be the only ones separated, and thought up of the other main Fairy Tail couples and their elements to bring this whole story together. If I had just continued with Juvia and Gray everything would have been different, but I'm pretty sure the ending would have been the same.**

**Thanks for reading everybody and I'm so happy you all enjoyed this story! Really! I think I did pretty well for my first real Juvia and Gray fanfiction. Sorry I didn't mention Erza or Jellal in this chapter, know that they are happy together since Jellal married her and is now living in the Earth Element as King since Gajeel has the Shadow Elements taken care of. In case any of you are wondering about Rogue, he met Sting while visiting the Light Element with his brother and the two of them are travelling around the Elements together as best friends.**

**No more after this, this is it. Again, thanks for the reviews and reading and I hope you'll enjoy rereading it in the future.**

**To think this whole story came from one picture; it's true what they say. A picture is worth a thousand words everybody, so find your favorite Fairy Tail picture and get writing!**

* * *

**Elements Of The Heart**

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Chapter 41

Heart

* * *

"I knew this was Ice Element territory, but really? Does it need to be this cold?!" Gajeel chattered.

Levy giggled and cuddled closer to him, she was shivering a little bit herself too and hoped being so close to each other would warm both of them up. Gajeel smiled a bit and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her even closer to him. Ahead of them Lucy heard the chattering of teeth and felt bad, since she didn't feel cold at all being next to her fireball.

"Natsu, could you heat it up a little bit here? Our friends look like they're about to freeze to death." Lucy giggled lightly snuggling up closer to him, feeling completely warm.

"No problem Luce, only if Gajeel asks nicely though." Natsu smirked looking behind him.

Gajeel glared and rolled his eyes, "don't hold your breath Natsu."

"Oh please Natsu? Pretty please?" Levy asked her nicest.

"Sure Levy, for you." Natsu said creating a small little fire ball with the flick of his fingers.

It flew over and hovered over her lap, warmth immediately flooding through her body. Levy sighed and and removed her hands from Gajeel, having them hover over the little fireball. Gajeel even moved a little closer to it and stopped shivering as he felt the heat.

"Thanks Natsu, you're the best." Levy said.

"Anything for the future Queen of the Shadows." Natsu teased.

"Aw Doranbolt look! It's snowing! It looks so pretty like small, fluffy clouds falling from the sky! Maybe we should have had our honeymoon here instead of the Earth Element... no offense Levy. You're section was very pretty, I loved all the greenery." Wendy said.

"None taken." Levy giggled, "I was just thinking the same exact thing in my mind. A honeymoon here would be beautiful, wouldn't you say Gajeel?" She winked at him.

"Are you two immune to the weather here though? If we stayed here we would be freezing our butts off! Could you imagine staying in this cold for two full weeks?" Doranbolt asked.

Wendy looked at herself, covered from head to toe in fluffy clouds that kept her and Doranbolt super warm. Without them though... he sort of had a point. "I guess that's true."

"Hey, simply gives us a reason to stay indoors all day then, huh Levy?" Gajeel flashed a grin.

Levy blushed and smacked him while Doranbolt started laughing in the background.

"Very good point, I guess we can always have our second honeymoon here. Huh Wens?" Doranbolt kissed the side of her head.

Wendy frowned and punched him lightly in the stomach, a warm blush appearing on her face. The six Elements continued to talk about the Ice Element's world for a while now until the cold finally got to some of them. The snow was really piling up now and Gajeel felt like he was about to become a snowman.

"So when the hell is this thing going to start?! Some of us are freezing!" Gajeel yelled out.

Footsteps could be heard from behind them as a new Element quickly jogged to reach them.

"Sorry guys! Didn't mean to keep you all waiting, it took longer than I thought to get this outfit on though. Wow, snow? This might help you guys with the cold." Gray said slamming a closed fist on his hand.

Ice started creeping up around them forming a cover over the Elements, blocking the snow and harsh winds that were freezing them all. It was a dark blue color, clear and see-through as Wendy gazed at the falling snowflakes that were gathering on top of them.

"Finally!" Gajeel yelled out.

Levy glared and smacked him again.

"Gray! Congratulations, we're all so happy for you!" Lucy jumped out of her seat to go and hug him.

She looked out the outfit he was wearing though, all white and clean just like the snow around them. He had on some white dress pants along with a white undershirt and coat, tiny blue snowflakes covering the end of his coat along with an ice blue flower at his chest and a beautiful ice crystal tie under his neck. There were a few more ice crystals that really made the outfit seem to shine all around and Lucy stopped, afraid she might break them if she hugged him, and decided to simply squeeze his shoulder.

"You look amazing, congratulations and thanks for inviting us."

"Of course Lucy, you all are my best friends remember? Juvia and I wouldn't have it any other way." Gray smiled at her.

"Speaking of Juvia, where is the bride anyway?" Natsu called out.

"She isn't here yet? And here I thought I was keeping her waiting. My Elements wouldn't let me leave without showing their gratitude and happiness for our union. They're expecting us to reenact our wedding when we get back there and let me tell you guys... get ready for a huge party when we come back." Gray laughed.

"Hell yeah! I am always ready to party! Let's get this thing going!" Natsu cheered out loud.

Lucy sighed and shook her head, "Natsu, calm down now. We're supposed to be celebrating a marriage, not a party."

"I can't help it Luce, I'm all excited now. Let's get this marriage on the road!"

Gray started chuckling before greeting all of his friends. He was able to chat with them for a little bit and thank them all for coming before he spotted his father and mother coming in the distance. He wanted their wedding to be small, private just between the two of them. Of course her family was invited and his family, but also all his Heart Element friends because they were all connected to each other. These past few months with them... it was indescribable. Gray couldn't imagine never being friends with these guys and Juvia had felt the same way; she was actually the one who came up with the idea of inviting them to the private ceremony because to them they were family.

"Sorry it took so long Gray, he's heavier than he looks." Gray Sr. smiled carrying Iceberg on his shoulders.

"Gray... good, you didn't ruin anything. Aw you look so nice and handsome, where's Juvia? We aren't late, are we? I tried to help your father but you know him, always has to do everything by himself." Mika pouted rolling her eyes at her husband.

"It's fine Mom, Juvia's running a little late too. Dad you can just put Yuki next to the alter, yeah right there." Gray said.

Gray Sr. placed his savior down with care next to the crystallized alter his son and future daughter-in-law were about to get married under. Constructed by himself and his wife, the two of them work endlessly to make the perfect just like they were married under. Gray walked over to Iceberg and placed his hand on it, his Heart Element glowing from underneath his clothes. The ice slowly started melting revealing an ice dragon peacefully lying down on the ground with a grand smile on his face.

"Glad you could make it Yuki," Gray smiled hugging him.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world Gray, not for the world." Yuki chuckled.

"HI YUKI!" The voices of the heart Elements cheered in the background.

Yuki chuckled once again and greeted them all, politely making conversation until the sound of ice shattering broke it. A huge claw made out of water suddenly appearing from out of the ice and broke through it, making this large opening. Gray looked and felt his jaw dropped as he saw his future wife; her hair was down and in slight curls as her gown was simply, simply breathtaking. As dark blue as the deepest parts of the waters, sparkling though and hugging her every curve and shape perfectly. Juvia looked up from under her eyelashes and smiled at her, allowing Kohaku to help her down onto the ice. She made the motion to walk over and greet him, but a slight tug on her dress stopped her. Juvia turned around and stared at Kohaku, seeing the sadness in his eyes.

"You can still back out you know... no one is forcing you to do this, and if they are, it's no one I can't handle." He mumbled.

"Kohaku, you don't need to worry about missing me. I'll come visit you every morning where your waters are warmest, every single day for the rest of our lives, and I won't let any of our children not know the coolness of the waters. I promise you this," Juvia smiled, running her hands through his waves.

It touched Kohaku to hear this, but he couldn't show it and act all mushy with his brother right there, "like I'd actually miss you!" He yelled out, but there were sniffles coming from him.

Juvia giggled lightly and kissed his cheek before turning back around. She still was not able to get to Gray though as her father and mother suddenly jumped out of the waters next.

"This is really something, now isn't it Athena?" Ryujin asked jumping out of the water, "nice cold weather, not too far from home."

"I keep telling you dear, I'm tired of swimming and now I'm tired of ice. We are going to be vacationing somewhere new and exciting and grand like, like Light! Or even Lightning!" Athena yelled out.

"Mom, Dad, stop it. You can continue this argument later," Juvia pouted.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry my precious, this really is your big day, isn't it?! Oh goodie, I can't wait. Hello Gray, don't keep him waiting long dear," Athena winked.

She kissed both of her daughter's cheeks before running over to meet Gray's parents, taking the seat next to them as they started talking. Ryujin stayed behind and held his daughter closer, placing kisses on the side of her head.

"You don't have to do this you know. I know you love him dear, but you're so young." Ryujin said lifting up Juvia's chin.

"I'm the exact same age you were when you married Mom." Juvia pouted.

"And I swear to Whirlpool if you end up pregnant like she did I'm going to tear down the entire Ice Element. Give me a couple of years before making me a grandpa, you hear?"

Juvia giggled and nodded her head, wrapping her arms around her father, "yes Daddy."

Ryujin chuckled deeply as he hugged her back, "you're so beautiful Juvia, so beautiful. If anything you can always just down Gray yourself if things don't work out."

"Dad! Go and sit down with Mom! Let me have my wedding!" Juvia yelled at him.

"Alright, alright, we can get started now. Mika, lovely to see you again. Gray Sr, I hope you've taught your boy some manners while we were away." Ryujin joked sitting over where the parents were.

Juvia grinned brightly as she turned around and ran over to where Gray was, no one stopped her now as she jumped towards him and he caught her. The two of them were laughing and hugging each other, even though they just saw each other last night feeling like it had been ages since then.

"You look, you look... simply beautiful Juvia, wow. Just as star-stuck and beautiful as the first day I saw you underneath the ice."

Juvia blushed and smiled, "you don't look so bad yourself mister. Okay Yuki! We're ready! Hurry up and start the wedding so I can be Mrs. Fullbuster already!"

The audience chuckled, Kohaku stopping his sulking finally and hopping out of the ice. Juvia and Gray went to stand under the alter while Kohaku walked over and took his seat next to his brother. Yuki cleared his throat before standing up tall and addressing everyone here.

"We are all gathered here today to see two extraordinary Elements unite in the power of holy matrimony. I've never married two Elements before, but I'm sure if I had not one of those couples would be as perfect of a match as Juvia and Gray. The two of you has faced countless trials and tribulations, but neither of you gave up... not once, and that's something to admire. I'm sure you two are going to have nothing happy times up ahead. Oh, oh dear, it seems I've turned into a Water Element," Yuki chuckled lightly wiping the tears that started pouring from out the corner of his eyes.

"Sorry, sorry. Gray, Juvia, you don't know how happy it makes me to be here right now. Never in a thousand years did I ever expect for all of us, all the Elements to be united and as friends again. Thank you for making this possible, so without further ado! Gray, do you take Juvia Lockster to be your wife?"

"Of course," Gray smiled staring into her eyes.

"And do you Juvia take Gray Fullbuster as your husband?"

"Do you really need to ask! I do, I do!" Juvia started cheering.

"That's it then! I pronounce you husband and wife and hereby declare Ice and Water to be united and one was Elements. You may kiss the bride!"

"FINALLY!" Natsu yelled, getting a slap in almost every direction.

Juvia started clapping before she hugged Gray, pressing her lips against his. Cheers could be heard from all around, but all Juvia could focus on was finally being with Gray. She only ever dreamed and fantasied about this happening, tears falling down her cheeks as she remembered the times where they couldn't speak or even touch each other, separated by ice. She prayed that would never happen again because without Gray, without him... life seemed to just sit still.

"I love you Gray," Juvia cried parting from him.

Gray was surprised to see her tears, but smiled lightly as he wiped them away. "I love you too Juvia."

"Yeah! Now the last two Elements that need to be reunited are Earth and Shadow! Get a move on you two!" Natsu called out.

Yet again, he got slapped in almost every direction. Everyone started laughing, Juvia and Gray the hardest as they refused to let go of each other.

And so the barriers that separated the eight Elements for 1000 years all but disappeared and became a distant legend, Elements itself becoming a legend as they all fused together and became one. With the Heart Element keeping eye on everything, there was never again any wars, suffering, or distance between Elements and they all coexist and lived happily ever after.


End file.
